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Gary Hall Jr. won 10 Olympic medals with the US swimming team from 1996 to 2004, losing everything in January when a home he rented at Pacific Palisades came into flames.
He is now again in possession of five gold, three silver and both silver. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach presented the replica at a ceremony at the Olympic home in Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday.
In a telephone interview with The Times, Hall admitted that he had become “emotional” at the ceremony for what he considers to be an incredible gesture by one of the sport’s biggest governing bodies.
“Just thanks – ‘one of our own’ was like a sense of acceptance for me,” Hall said. “When tough times arise, you find out who your friends are. And to see this response from the highest level of sports, it makes you feel special. It makes you feel supported.
” … Our measurement of value is that it is humble and inspiring to be on the receiving end of help and support. ”
Hall kept the medals fireproof and safe. “It definitely wasn’t fire resistant so we have to check the warranty,” he joked, taking them in his bedroom closet to help inspire kids and aspiring athletes during appearances and speaking.
When a massive wildfire struck the area on January 7th, Hall was unable to retrieve the medal before escaping safely at Encinitas’s sister’s home. A few weeks later he returned to where his house was standing and found safety in the tile ble. Hall was able to open it, but was “disappointed” by what he found inside.
“It was basically a pool of melted metal. You know, a link to watches, jewels and cuffs, that safe Olympic medal combination,” Hall said. “It was all pooled together in one big chunk. I was able to pry these halves like they melted together. I offered it to President Thomas Bach, who politely declined and said I should keep it up.
Gary Hall Jr. holds a molten metal chunk of once more than one of his Olympic medals, adjacent to one of the alternative medals he received from the IOC on Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland.
(Denis Balibose/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
He added: “There was another medal, Silver. It was kind of identifiable. You could say it was an Olympic medal. I might donate it to the Olympic Museum,” says Lausanne.
In addition to all his possessions, the fire cost him his swimming business, Sea Monkeys Swimming. He is working to get a sports betting platform for swimming and running, and plans to use these funds to restart his business.
“I think everybody who lived in that area loved the area. It’s not there anymore,” Hall said. “So this is a recovery process and it’s going to take time. This business I had depends on having families and kids in the community. Even the people I knew and talked to, people who haven’t burned out in their homes, a lot of them are moving because of exactly that toxic environment.
Hall said that 17-year-old son Charlie was with him “because he couldn’t see his first medal winning,” and that there was a “silver lining” in the situation.
“To be able to share this experience with him means the world to me,” Hall said.
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