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The Olympic medals of Gary Hall Jr. were destroyed in the fires of Los Angeles. On Monday, he received 10 replica medals at the IOC headquarters to replace those he lost.
Like most of the personal effects of hall, the original medals burned four months ago at his home in the Pacific Palisades.
“I will do a better job to take care of it,” said Hall jokingly.
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The American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. holds an original Atlanta medal from Atlanta 1996 which melted during the Forest Fires of Los Angeles which destroyed his house, while holding a replica medal which was presented to him in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, May 5, 2025. (Denis Balibouse / Keystone / Reuters Pool via AP)
The 50-year-old has received a new set of five gold medals, three argents and two bronze medals he won in swimming for the United States.
The president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, said that the presentation of Hall Jr. with 10 medals the same day was a “unique ceremony”.
“I don’t think this has happened before and I hope it should never happen again,” Bach told Hall. “We also hope to give you a moment of relief and joy that will now help you in the additional process to overcome what you had to undergo with this tragedy.”
Hall brought a gold medal to the ceremony which he found distorted in his house in the aftermath of forest fires.
Los Angeles starts the trip to the 2028 Olympic Games in style
American swimmers Anthony Ervin, on the left, and Gary Hall Jr., center, who equaled gold at 50m free male, stretch with the Dutch swimmer Pieter Van Den Hoogenband, who won the bronze medal on September 22, 2000, during the Olympic Summer Games in Sydney. (AP photo / David Longstreath, file)
Hall won gold at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games at the 4x100m free and 4x100m Medley relay and won two silver medals at 50m free and 100m freestyle in these same games.
The native of Phoenix, Arizona, won two other gold medals at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games at 50m free and 4x100m Medley while collecting a silver and bronze medal in Australia.
At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Hall Jr. won its last two medals. A gold medal with a 50m freestyle and a bronze medal with a free 4x100m relay.
The American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. holds a medal that melted during forest fires while wearing the replica Olympic medals that are presented to him during a ceremony at the Olympic house in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday May 5, 2025. (Denis Balibouse / Keystone / Reuters Pool via AP)
“Having friends and family, I am a very lucky man,” said Hall. “The support that was offered to me from the sports community supported me through the darkest nights.”
“This is what this family (Olympic) – rivals and friends are used. I am so appreciated by everyone. I cannot thank the Olympic movement enough for their support through this very difficult period.”
