The Swedish sailing duo took bronze in the mixed 470 class off Marseille. Just a few weeks later, Dahlberg noticed that the medal was losing its luster.
It started surprisingly fast, I must say. After two weeks, I'd say. We had a little medal celebration here and there, and it no longer shone with French cultural pride, he says.
When he contacted the Swedish Olympic Committee, he found out that it wasn't an isolated Monday issue. Around the world, fresh Olympic medalists were wondering what was happening to their medals.
Problem in production
The IOC has stated that something went wrong in the production process, says Anton Dahlberg.
According to the news agency AP, several medals have been replaced after complaints from athletes. Over 100 medals have been returned. Neither the French nor the International Olympic Committee reveals any figures, but says that a process to replace medals is underway.
Do you have any theories about why the quality of your bronze medal is subpar?
I don't, really. It gets a bit annoying when I compare it to my silver medal from Tokyo. Then you see that there's a huge difference. This is something you want to show your grandchildren when you're 85, says Dahlberg.
What do you do, do you want to have the medal replaced?
I haven't sent it in yet, waiting for instructions on how to proceed, so I hope they solve it with the existing one.
"Really like it"
The best for you is that the medal gets refreshed, right?
At first, I thought the medal should be nicer. It should be Olympic-level. They've thought it through in the design, and I really like it. Then I read an article about another athlete who really didn't want to exchange their medal because it was the one they got. That perspective is fine, but the thought is that I should fix the medal.
Is it just as bad with Lovisa Karlsson's medal?
It was the same for her, but I don't know what she'll do
Do you know if there are more Swedish medalists than you who have asked for a new medal?
Not what I know, but I think primarily that it's the bronze medals that have had problems.
Gold: Sarah Sjöström (two), Armand Duplantis, David Åhman/Jonatan Hellvig.
Silver: Truls Möregårdh (two), Anton Källberg, Kristian Karlsson, Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler, Victor Lindgren.
Bronze: Tara Babulfath, Jenny Rissveds, Anton Dahlberg/Lovisa Karlsson.
Paralympics
Silver: Anna Benson.
Bronze: Nicolina Pernheim-Goodrich and Anna Beck.
