US swimmer Gary Hall Jr loses Olympic gold medals in California wildfires: ‘Something I can live without’
Olympic gold medalist Gary Hall Jr. was among the thousands of Californians displaced by wildfires raging through the Los Angeles area this week, and like many, lost all of his priceless possessions — including all 10 of his Olympic medals.
However, for Hall, he is grateful that he walked away with his life.
Gary Hall Jr. listens to the national anthem after receiving the gold medal for the men’s 50m freestyle on August 20, 2004 during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics in the main pool of the Aquatic Center Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
In an interview with Sydney Morning HeraldHall recalled the moment he first saw “a plume of smoke” coming from his yard. He was on the phone with his daughter when the disaster happened.
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“I saw flames coming out and houses starting to crack. There were explosions. I didn’t have much time,” he recalled in an interview. “Sunset Boulevard was at a complete standstill. People were abandoning their cars and running for their lives. The police were telling them to do it. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around the smoke.”
Forest fires spread quickly. Hall had time to take only the bare essentials – his dog and a few personal items.
The house he was renting in Pacific Palisades burned down, along with all his Olympic medals, including five gold, three silver and two bronze. He was thinking about them at the moment, but the gravity of the situation did not allow him to grab them.
The sun rises after the Palisades Fire ravaged a neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
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“I was thinking about the medals. I didn’t have time to get them,” Hall told the newspaper. “Everybody wants to know if the medals are burned? Yes, they’re all burned. It’s something I can live without. I guess it’s all just stuff. It’s going to take hard work to start over. What can you do?”
Hall described the scene as “worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1,000 times worse”. More than the loss of medals, Hall’s home, where he ran a business teaching children to swim, is now completely gone.
“It’s going to be a rollercoaster of emotions, especially when it comes time to go back to where the house stood. I’m going to dig through the ashes and see if the medals have melted. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not .I don’t know.”
Gary Hall Jr. shows off his gold medal for the men’s 50m freestyle on August 20, 2004 during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics in the main pool of the Aquatic Center Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
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Thousands of Californians have been evacuated as wildfires fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds swept through southern California this week. At least five people died as the fires continued to burn more than 27,000 hectares on Thursday.
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