Former Team USA swimmer Gary Hall Jr., who scored 10 Olympic medals during his career, will receive replicas of these medals after losing them in the deadly California fires, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Sunday.
The IOC released a statement this weekend in response to multiple wildfires burn in southern California which left at least 24 dead and destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
A general view of burned residential areas as wildfires continue to wreak havoc, reaching their fifth day and causing significant damage to residential areas in Los Angeles on January 12, 2025. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We stand in full solidarity with the citizens of Los Angeles and full of admiration for the tireless work of the firefighters and security forces,” the statement read. “Currently, the focus must be on fighting fires and protecting people and property.”
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The IOC also confirmed that Hall, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, would receive replicas of his medals, which he lost in the Pacific Palisades fire.
“We also learned that a great Olympian, Gary Hall Jr., lost his medals in the fire. The IOC will provide him with replicas.”
Gary Hall Jr. of the United States listens to the national anthem after receiving the gold medal in the men’s 50-meter freestyle August 20, 2004, during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, at the Main Pool of the Olympic aquatic sports complex. Center in Athens, Greece. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald Last week, Hall recalled seeing the fires in his neighborhood for the first time.
US SWIMMER GARY HALL JR LOSE OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS IN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: “SOMETHING I CAN LIVE WITHOUT”
“I saw the flames burst and the houses started to explode. There were explosions. I didn’t have much time,” he said. “Sunset Boulevard was a complete traffic jam. People were abandoning their cars and running for their lives. The police were telling them to do it. My girlfriend was stuck in her car because of the smoke.”
Hall said he only had time to collect the essentials, leaving his medals behind.
“I thought about the medals. I didn’t have time to get them,” he told the media outlet. “Everyone wants to know if the medals burned? Yeah, everything burned. It’s something I can live without. I guess it’s all just hardware. It’ll take hard work to start again. What can you do? do you?”
Gary Hall Jr. of the United States shows his gold medal in the men’s 50-meter freestyle event, August 20, 2004, during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games, at the main pool of the complex’s aquatic center Olympic athlete from Athens, Greece. . (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Hall, 50, won four medals, including two gold, in his first Summer Games at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Four years later he won four more medals and at his last Games, the 2004 Athens Olympics, two more.
In 2012, Hall was inducted into the United States Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.
