Swimmer Gary Hall Jr. received 10 Olympic medals Monday, replacing the original ones that were destroyed when his home was engulfed by the Palisades Fire.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach presented Hall with the replica medals on Monday during a ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“When tough times happen, you find out who your friends are,” Hall told the Los Angeles Times after the event. “And to see this response from the highest level of sport, it makes you feel special. It makes you feel supported, which is so needed at this time. And with the rebuilding process and dealing with incredible loss, that value is tremendous.”
Hall said his 10 medals — five gold, three silver and two bronze — were stored in a safe that was supposed to be fireproof, but it turned out not to be. He told The Times the safe was reduced to a “pool of melted metal,” including the Olympic medals, watches and jewelry.
During the ceremony, Bach told Hall, “We really appreciate your presence here.”
“I cannot tell you how much we admire you, not only because of the medals, but because when we were reading your tragic story of losing your house, your possessions and all your worldly properties, this went straight to our heart,” Bach said.
“But even more so, when we learned how you overcame this tragedy in the style of a true Olympic champion, showing all the resilience, courage and confidence that you were known for as an athlete at the time, but you displayed under very different circumstances once more.”
Hall noted that he is now looking forward to Los Angeles hosting the Olympic Games in 2028.
“I was 10 years old when L.A. hosted the 1984 Olympic Games, and I was old enough to see … what the Olympic Games was, the scale of it, the importance, the significance of the world stage in the 1984 Olympic Games,” he said during the ceremony. “This inspired me more than any genetic inheritance or family tradition that propelled me.”
Hall competed in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.