Sports

Olympic Swimmer Gets 10 New Medals After Originals Melted In Palisades Fire

"When tough times happen, you find out who your friends are," Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr. said.

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American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. holds an original medal from Atlanta 1996, that melted during the wildfires in Los Angeles that destroyed his home earlier this year, and a replica medal presented to him Monday.
American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. holds an original medal from Atlanta 1996, that melted during the wildfires in Los Angeles that destroyed his home earlier this year, and a replica medal presented to him Monday. (Denis Balibouse/Keystone/Reuters Pool via AP)

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — Swimmer Gary Hall Jr. on Monday received 10 Olympic medals, replacing his original ones that were destroyed when his home was reduced to rubble in the Palisades Fire.

Hall now has the five gold, three silver and two bronze medals he won from 1996 to 2004 in the Olympics. They're replicas that were presented to him during a ceremony at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“When tough times happen, you find out who your friends are. And to see this response from the highest level of sport, it makes you feel special. It makes you feel supported, which is so needed at this time. And with the rebuilding process and dealing with incredible loss, that value is tremendous," Hall told the Times in an interview.

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U.S. swimmers Anthony Ervin, left, and Gary Hall Jr., center, who tied for the gold medal in the men's 50m freestyle, stand with Dutch swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband, right, who won the bronze medal, Sept. 22, 2000 at the Sydney International Aquatic Center during the Summer Olympics in Sydney. (AP Photo/David Longstreath, file)

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.

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