MILAN (AP) — Handle with care. That's the message from gold medalist Breezy Johnson at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after she and other athletes found their medals broke within hours.
Olympic organizers are investigating with “maximum attention” after a spate of medals fell off their ribbons during celebrations on the opening weekend of the Games.
“Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement and it broke," women's downhill ski gold medalist Johnson said after her win Sunday. "I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken but a little broken.”
Johnson didn't have to wait long for a replacement. By the time she reached the starting hill for Tuesday's combined team event she'd already been given a new one, though it still needs to be engraved.
Asked if she got to keep the busted one, Johnson shook her head.
“They don’t, like, let you have multiple of those things,” she said with a laugh.
TV footage broadcast in Germany captured the moment biathlete Justus Strelow realized the mixed relay bronze he'd won Sunday had fallen off the ribbon around his neck and clattered to the floor as he danced along to a song with teammates.
His German teammates cheered as Strelow tried without success to reattach the medal before realizing a smaller piece, seemingly the clasp, had broken off and was still on the floor.
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu posted a clip on social media of her team event gold medal detached from its official ribbon.
“My medal don’t need the ribbon,” Liu wrote early Monday.
Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organizing committee, said it was working on a solution.
“We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images. We are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem,” Francisi said Monday.
“But we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it.”
It isn't the first time the quality of Olympic medals has come under scrutiny.
Following the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, some medals had to be replaced after athletes complained they were starting to tarnish or corrode, giving them a mottled look likened to crocodile skin.
AP Sports Writer Daniella Matar in Milan and Andrew Dampf in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, contributed to this report.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Germany's Franziska Preuss, from left, Vanessa Voigt, Philipp Nawrath and Justus Strelow celebrate bronze on the podium for the 4X6-kilometer mixed relay biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Alysa Liu of the United States celebrate with the crowd after Team USA wins gold in the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
United States' Breezy Johnson shows her gold medal in the alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
TOKYO (AP) — Many of Tokyo's popular and iconic Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan's postwar advancement in the 1960s, and are now getting old and frail.
Some have fallen and many others require support, triggering safety concern as the Japanese celebrate the season of their favorite flower.
Two cherry blossom trees collapsed on Thursday, one at Kinuta Park in downtown Tokyo and the other at the Chidorigafuchi greenway. The one in Kinuta Park damaged a fence while the other tree almost fell into the Imperial Palace moat, though nobody was injured.
The tree in Kinuta Park was 18 meters (59 feet) tall and 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in diameter. It was among the oldest, believed to be more than 60 years old, officials said. In March, another old cherry tree collapsed at the park, injuring a passerby.
Last year, 85 trees fell in Tokyo parks, injuring three people, and many were cherry trees, according to Masakazu Noguchi, a Tokyo metropolitan official in charge of public parks.
People gather under the trees during the season of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, and the collapse of trees has alarmed officials in Tokyo, the birthplace of the cherry blossom variety.
Tokyo assembly member Yutaka Kazama expressed concern on social media last month that“cherry blossom trees with their roots partially exposed or obviously rotten seem dangerous," calling for firm safety measures but without quickly resorting to tree felling.
Aging and erosion by internal fungus growth are among the main causes for the deterioration of the cherry blossom trees.
A tree doctor, Hiroyuki Wada, said heavy tilting, flowering on lower trunks and mushrooms growing at the bottom are signs to look for in order to avoid risk-prone trees. Risks increase when tree trunks retain water after rain, he said.
“Many trees in our daily lives were planted soon after the war and are now 70-80 years old and getting weaker," he said, adding that they are affected by extreme heat in the summer and an extensive dry season.
“I hope people think about the climate change through what's happening to the cherry blossom trees, which is very symbolic,” he said.
Following the March incidents, officials conducted tree health checks at Tokyo's main parks ahead of the cherry blossom viewing season.
At the Kinuta Park, officials have conducted preliminary inspections of more than 800 cherry trees. They chopped down a number of trees and posted warning signs near some trees but the tree that fell Thursday was without caution signs.
“At the moment, our measures are mostly temporary, not fundamental steps such as replanting,” Noguchi said. “We call on visitors to use caution because we cannot say it’s safe even after inspection.”
At the Inokashira Park, one of Tokyo’s most popular viewing spots, dozens of aging cherry blossom trees have been felled in recent years as part of a long-term replanting plan. Some people lamented on social media the empty spaces around a pond that used to be seamlessly encircled by flowering pink blossoms.
Cherry blossom viewers say the news of falling cherry trees is worrisome, but they didn't want to miss the short-lived fluffy pink blossoms.
“I'm a bit worried, but I guess it's OK if we stay away from tree trunks,” said Lisa Suzuki.
Another visitor Akira Kamiyashiki said he came with his daughter despite the safety concerns because rain is expected over the weekend. “Seeing the keep-off signs, I now feel safe,” he said.
Cherry blossoms, or “sakura,” are Japan’s favorite flower and usually reach their peak in late March to early April, just as the country celebrates the start of a new school and business year. Many Japanese enjoy walking or picnicking under the trees.
A fallen cherry trees is seen at the Inokashira Park, one of Tokyo’s most popular viewing spots, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi)
People walk past an aging cherry blossom tree at the Inokashira Park, one of Tokyo’s most popular viewing spots, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi)
An aging cherry blossom tree is seen at the Inokashira Park, one of Tokyo’s most popular viewing spots, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi)
People sit down for a picnic outside a cordoned-off area set up to inspect the health of cherry blossom trees at Kinuta Park in Tokyo, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mayuko Ono)
People sit down for a picnic outside a cordoned-off area set up to inspect the health of cherry blossom trees at Kinuta Park in Tokyo, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mayuko Ono)
A damaged cherry blossom tree is seen after a nearby tree fell on it, at Kinuta Park in Tokyo, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Mayuko Ono)
