This Polish Olympic winner sold his silver medal for a 3-year-old cancer patient
Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski, who won an Olympic silver medal in Rio, has auctioned his medal to raise funds for the treatment of Olek Szymanski, a three-year-old cancer victim. This has been lauded by many as a display of the true spirit of the Olympics, and that of a true sportsperson.
After his recent win, Piotr made an appeal on Facebook saying, “In Rio I fought for the gold. Today I appeal to everyone — let’s fight together about something that is even more precious: the health of this fantastic boy. If you help me, my silver can be more precious than gold.”
Piotr tried to raise nearly $84,000. The price of the medal had reached $19,000, when Polish billionaires Dominika and Sebastian Kulczyk agreed to purchase the medal for the cost of the surgery, as reported by CBS Sports.
Three-year-old Olek suffers from retinoblastoma, an eye cancer affecting young children. Thanks to Piotr's campaign, Olek will soon be flying to New York for treatment, Independent reports.
The 33-year-old Polish discus player threw 67.55m to claim silver, which he believes should serve a greater purpose than decorating his medal shelf. This was his second Olympic medal; the first too was a silver in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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