Olympian Gary Hall Jr. shares his story on ‘America’s Newsroom’ about losing his home and medals to the devastating California wildfires.
US swimming great Gary Hall Jr will have 10 Olympic medals lost in LA wildfires replaced, IOC says
by Paulina Dedaj · Fox NewsFormer Team USA swimmer Gary Hall Jr., who earned 10 Olympic medals during his career, will be provided with replicas of those medals after he lost them in the deadly California wildfires, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday.
The IOC released a statement over the weekend in response to the multiple wildfires burning in Southern California which have claimed at least 24 lives and destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
"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," the statement read. "Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property."
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The IOC also confirmed that Hall, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, would receive replicas of his medals, which he lost in the Pacific Palisades Fire.
"We have also learned that a great Olympian, Gary Hall Jr., has lost his medals in the fire. The IOC will provide him with replicas."
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald last week, Hall recalled first seeing the fires in his neighborhood.
"I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time," he said. "Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke."
Hall said he only had enough time to grab the essentials, leaving his medals behind.
"I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them," he told the outlet. "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?"
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Hall, 50, won four medals, including two gold, in his first Summer Games in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Four years later, he brought home four more medals and in his final Games, the 2004 Athens Olympics, two more.
In 2012, Hall was inducted into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Paulina Dedaj is a Sports Reporter for Fox News Digital.