A Japanese softball player will get a replacement for her Olympic gold medal after her city mayor sank his teeth into the first one

• A Japanese Olympic softballer will get a new gold medal from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
• The IOC will replace Miu Goto's medal after her city mayor chomped on it at an event on August 4.
• The mayor, Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya, has apologized for biting the athlete's prize.
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A Japanese Olympic gold medalist will be getting a free replacement medal from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after her city mayor chomped down on her prize.

Miu Goto, a pitcher for Japan's softball team who hails from the central Japanese city of Nagoya, won her medal after a hard-fought match in which the Japanese beat Team USA 2-0.

At a victory event on August 4, Nagoya mayor Takashi Kawamura removed his mask and bit down on Goto's medal, according to Japanese news outlet Kyodo News.

-Reuters (@Reuters) August 13, 2021

Kawamura's stunt prompted a social media backlash, with some writing that it was unhygienic, considering Japan's COVID-19 restrictions, and disrespectful of Goto's achievements, per the BBC.

Local news outlet Mainichi Shimbun reported that Kawamura apologized after the Nagoya government received more than 7,000 complaints, saying that he was acting "on impulse" and made "the symbol of years and years of hard work dirty."

"With support from the International Olympic Committee and in line with her own intention, Ms. Goto's medal is now set to be exchanged for a new one," the organizers of the Tokyo Games told Reuters.

Goto did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.