Poland discus thrower Piotr Malachowski sold his silver medal to help a boy who was battling cancer.
Malachowski, who won a silver in the Beijing Olympics, also won a silver in Rio. He auctioned his recent silver to help fund the treatment of a 3-year-old boy who was fighting against cancer.
Malachowski posted about it on his Facebook page.
Zdobycie medalu olimpijskiego to dla sportowca spełnienie życiowych marzeń. Oczywiście najcenniejszy jest ten złoty….
Posted by Piotr Małachowski on Friday, August 19, 2016
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Rough translation via Facebook Translation:
To win an Olympic medal is every athlete’s life fulfilling dream. Of course, the most precious is gold. I did everything in my power to get it. Unfortunately, this time didn’t work. But fate gave me a chance to increase the value of my “silver”. Just after the competition, someone wrote to me, asking for help in rescuing his little boy. For almost two years, Olek, more than half his entire life, was battling cancer in his eyeball. Retinoblastoma is malignant cancer of the eye, which exists only in children under the age of 5, often affecting the weakest. Poland doesn’t have a chance of saving him. The only chance is therapy in New York.
I decided to help and give the medal I won in Rio for auction. Whole bid amount will be donated for treatment.
I encourage people of goodwill to pay the money in the account, send text messages, and help in every way possible. Let’s help the parents and family. #ocalicokoolka
In Rio, I fought for gold. Today, I appeal to everyone – let’s fight together about something that is even more precious, the health of this fantastic boy. So, you are invited to the auction: https://bit.ly/2b41eXH. If you help me, my silver can be more precious than gold.
Though the exact amount of the final bid was not revealed, ESPN reported that the top bid was about $19,000.
With the auction coming to a close, Malachowski said, “Thank you everyone who took part in the auction. We were able to show that together we can make miracles. My silver medal today is worth much more than a week ago.”
What Malachowski did is only the start for Olek. We hope he comes out on top of this.
And with Malachowski, even if he gave up one medal, he definitely is a champ!
