ANKARA

Japan will exchange an Olympic gold medal of one of its athletes which was bitten by a city mayor, local media said on Thursday.

Public broadcaster NHK News said that Japanese softball pitcher Miu Goto's gold medal that she won in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be replaced by a new one as Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura bit it to show his affection during the 20-year-old athlete's hometown visit on Aug. 4.

Japan beat the US 2-0 in Tokyo 2020's softball gold medal game in Yokohama on July 27.

In her visit, Goto placed her gold medal around Kawamura's neck and then the mayor suddenly removed his face mask to take a bite from the medal.

The video went viral on social media and Kawamura had to apologize for his act after coming under fire.

NHK reported that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese Olympic Committee, and the Tokyo Games' organizing committee decided to exchange Goto's bitten gold medal with a new one.

Postponed from last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo 2020 ran from July 23 to Aug. 8.