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The 10 Olympic medals American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. lost in the devastating LA fires will be replaced.
Days after Hall, 50, revealed he lost nearly everything he owns in the fatal blaze engulfing parts of the Los Angeles area, the International Olympic Committee confirmed Sunday it will replace the medals the three-time Olympian won throughout his career.
“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,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement.
“Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property. We have also learned that a great Olympian, Gary Hall Jr., has lost his medals in the fire. The IOC will provide him with replicas.”
Hall won his first Olympic medals at the Atlanta Games in 1996. He won gold in the 4×100 m freestyle and the 4×100 m medley. Hall was also awarded silver in the 50 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle.
Four years later in Sydney, Hall won gold again in the 4×100 m medley, as well as the 50 m freestyle. The Ohio native received silver in the 4×100 m freestyle and bronze in the 100 m freestyle.
For his final Olympic outing in Athens in 2004, Hall won gold in the 50 m freestyle and bronze in the 4×100 m freestyle.
USA Today reported Monday the IOC typically houses non-engraved medals from previous Olympics that can be engraved and subsequently given out.
Hall chronicled the aftermath of the fires in an Instagram video shared Friday, expressing gratitude for those who checked in on his well-being.
“Having love is more important than having things. All worldly possessions are gone. Home is gone. Business is gone. The support from the community is so appreciated,” he captioned the post.
The athlete expanded on the horrors of the California wildfires in a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, stating last week, “It was worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1,000 times worse.”
“I was on the phone with my daughter. I noticed a plume of smoke coming over the back side of my house. I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time. Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke,” recalled Hall, who just “had time to grab my dog and just a couple of personal items.”
Hall, who had been renting a property in the vicinity of the Palisades fire, also lost medals from the world championships.
“I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?”
A GoFundMe has since been organized on Hall’s behalf. More than $75,000 has been raised as of Monday.
The LA fires have claimed 24 lives as of Monday.
