The International Olympic Committee will replace the 10 medals that American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. lost when the California wildfires destroyed his home last week, IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement Sunday.
‘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.’
Hall, 50, won five gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes in his three Olympic appearances from 1996 to 2004. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that the medals – along with almost all of his other possessions – were destroyed when the home he was renting in Pacific Palisades, California caught fire last week.
The Pacific Palisades Fire is one of several wildfires that have spread across the Los Angeles area over the past week, leaving homes and businesses in ruins and at least 24 people dead.
‘I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them,’ Hall 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?’
Bach said the IOC will be giving Hall replica medals in an attempt to replace the ones that were lost. The IOC usually maintains a reserve of non-engraved medals from each iteration of the Olympic Games, which can then be engraved and distributed at a later date. Medals are most commonly reallocated following positive doping cases. Most recently, 10 athletes received reallocated medals in a special ceremony held during the 2024 Paris Olympics last summer.
Hall has relocated to San Diego with family since the fire, according to a GoFundMe page created to support him. The page had raised more than $75,000 as of Monday morning.
‘Thank you again to so many people,’ Hall said in a statement posted to the page. ‘I feel the love. It means so much.’
Hall made his Olympic debut at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he won a trio of gold medals as part of U.S. swimming relays. He went on to win gold in the 50-meter freestyle at both the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Games in Athens.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.