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Olympic Games

Gary Hall Jr. lost all his Olympic medals in the LA fires; the IOC decides to send him new ones

The two-time Olympic and three-time World champion will receive new medals after the LA fires destroyed all his trophies in his Pacific Palisades home.

The two-time Olympic and three-time World champion will receive new medals after the LA fires destroyed all his trophies in his Pacific Palisades home.
Shaun BotterillGetty Images

Gary Hall Jr., the two-time Olympic individual swimming champion from Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 in the 50m freestyle, and also the three-time world champion in the relay events, will receive new medals after his medals from the world’s biggest multi-sport event were destroyed in the raging fire at his rented home in Los Angeles, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach confirmed.

The International Olympic Committee decided to replace the ten medals that American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. lost when his home was destroyed by California wildfires last week. He was famous for his duels with that time-famous Russian swimmer, now coach and Omega watch ambassador Aleksandr Popov.

We are in full solidarity with the citizens of Los Angeles and full of admiration for the tireless work of the firefighters and the security forces,” Bach said. “Currently, the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property.”

Five-time Olympic swimming champion Gary Hall Jr. is among the many Los Angeles residents who have lost their homes in the fires raging in Southern California.

He explained to the media that he saw a cloud of smoke, then flames, from his rented house in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. As soon as he saw the home is on fire, he knew it was time to leave.

We had about three minutes to react. I chose to save my dog ​​over the Olympic medals. Could I have stayed another 30 seconds and maybe saved the medals? I wasn’t ready to take the risk,” explained the 50-year-old retired swimmer born in Cincinnati.

During his swimming career, the American won five gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals at the Games in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, and Athens 2004, and competed exclusively in the freestyle events.

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