A few months after losing an Olympic medal in a wildfire in Los Angeles, swimming champion Gary Hall Jr. was given a replica.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach announced 10 medal replicas in the hall at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday.
“Thank you for the medals. I’ve never replaced 10 Olympic medals, because perhaps no one has lost 10 medals,” Hall said with a laugh. “I do a better job of caring for these.”
US swimmer Gary Hall Jr. was introduced to President Thomas Bach in a handover ceremony after the original was destroyed by a wildfire in Los Angeles earlier this year, and at the Olympics House in Lausanne on May 5, 2025, Dennis Balib House/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/Pool/
Hall, now 50 years old, swam for Team USA at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He left those medals at Palisades in the Pacific Ocean during the January fire that destroyed parts of the city.
“This was straight in our hearts as we read your tragic story of losing your home and all your property and your secular property,” Bach said. “But even more so when you learn how to overcome this tragedy in the way of a true Olympic champion.”
The Summer Olympics will return to Los Angeles in 2028 for the first time since 1984.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will host more events and award more medals than the previous Olympics.
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