Outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach said on Sunday that American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. would receive a new set of medals to replace the ones that he lost in the Los Angeles wildfires last week.
Hall, Jr., 50, was forced to evacuate quickly on January 7 with his dog, Puddles, insulin to treat his Type I Diabetes, a painting of his grandfather, and a painting of the ‘Blessed Mary’ given to him by his daughter.
Everything else, including family heirlooms and his 10 Olympic medals, are presumed lost when the fire reached his home.
“I was getting pelted by embers on that first run,” Hall told the Los Angeles Times. “So I grabbed my dog and some dog food, and that was it.”
The IOC posted a quote from Bach on Sunday that Hall would be given replica medals to replace those that were lost. Bach himself is an Olympic champion in fencing.
“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. Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property. We have also…
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) January 12, 2025
“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. Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property,” Bach said. “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.”
Hall won 5 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympic Games.
Olympic Games
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|---|---|---|
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1996 Atlanta | 4×100 m freestyle |
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1996 Atlanta | 4×100 m medley |
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2000 Sydney | 50 m freestyle |
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2000 Sydney | 4×100 m medley |
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2004 Athens | 50 m freestyle |
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1996 Atlanta | 50 m freestyle |
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1996 Atlanta | 100 m freestyle |
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2000 Sydney | 4×100 m freestyle |
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2000 Sydney | 100 m freestyle |
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2004 Athens | 4×100 m freestyle |
The medals were not made of pure gold, silver, and bronze, but instead were alloys made of different medals. The compositions were very similar to those used today, meaning that the replacement cost of the metals in the medals would be about $ for the gold medals, $500 for the silver medals, and $5 for the bronze medals.
On a rough cut, that implies it will be about $6,500 in materials, plus the cost of production, to create replicas of the lost medals.
Hall, Jr. posted a video of him at the site of the former home that he rented on Sunday, where there was not much that appeared to be obviously salvageable.
“I’ll have to start over,” Hall said in an update to the GoFundMe page. “I own a toothbrush at this point. Burning embers rained down as I grabbed my dog and jumped in the car.
“With community support, I’ll acquire a laptop and find a suitable teaching pool to rebuild my business and start teaching little kids how to swim again. It’ll have to be somewhere else. All that remains of Pacific Palisades is ash.”
Hall also thanked the fire department for “bravely doing their best” and expressed sympathy for other families impacted by the fires, which he says “gets (him) more than any personal loss.”
There is not much recognizable from what was once a house. The chimney is still standing, and there is a burned out shell of a Volkswagen bus. A pool can also be seen on the property. Otherwise, the site is a pile of burned rubble.
The Pacific Palisades fire flared overnight on Saturday, leading to a fresh round of evacuations. In all, fires across Los Angeles have burned at least 5,000 structures, killed at least 16, and burned at least 37,000 acres. More than 12,000 structures remain under threat and more than 100,000 people have been displaced.
Hall was using the home he was renting to teach swim lessons to kids in the area through his business, Sea Monkeys Swimming. He was able to get a hotel for him and his dog, and is now staying with family in San Diego.
A GoFundMe was created to support him and help him recover from the loss of his home and his business. The fund has currently raised more than $75,000 of his $50,000 goal, which is an increase from the initial $10,000 goal.
Hall, Jr. won 10 Olympic medals between 1996-2004, winning back-to-back titles in the 50m freestyle in 2000 and 2004. He was also a crucial member of United States relays and helped them to three golds (1996: 4×100 free, 4×100 medley; 2000 4×100 medley), a silver (2000: 4×100 free), and a bronze (2004: 4×100 free). His other medals were two silvers (1996: 50 and 100 free; 2000) and a bronze (2000: 100 free).
IOC did the right thing – athletes and coaches collectively faint – but glad they did. What a tragedy (for all).
Rare IOC W
Terrible circumstances.
I’m confused how everyone says he lost his house? He was renting wasn’t he? And yes I understand losing the contents and the pool he used for his business is devastating.
Classy move.
As to Hall’s original medals, what would have happened to them in the fire? Melted down?
I would imagine even some re-solidified metallic puddles would have value to him.
I was wondering the same thing. I’m sure someone has the answer to this. Probably depends on how hot the fire burned and what they were in?
Some folks keep their medals in cases that are of less-flammable material than, say, wood. Something like that would have a chance to survive…depending on how hot the fire got and how quickly it burned.
I’ve wondered about this as well. A lot of people (including me) own cheap “fire proof safes”. I wonder how well they actually held up in fires like this (containing Olympic medals or not). My understanding is that some modern building materials burn at a higher temperature than wood.
Gold melts at 1964 degrees and considering it was probably a roaring blaze it would almost be guaranteed to reach above that. Also, not knowing the other materials in the medals themselves, I’m sure whatever composition would have been under similar conditions to warrant a lot of damage, if not a complete meltdown.
– I just googled a bunch of stuff FYI
I googled and most house fires are between 1000 and 2000 degrees. Super useful range, but makes me wonder…
Per this: Winner Medals Olympic Games 2000 Sydney
Those gold medals were made almost entirely of silver. Silver’s melting point is about 1763 deg F.
Having experienced a wildfire like that a few years ago, we had a brass transit melt (1710 degree melting point) and a neighbor’s fireproof safe survived but all the papers inside caught on fire and the jewelry melted.
If they were like Paris 2024 medals, they evaporated and blew away.
Kidding aside, hope he gets replacements that mirror the originals.
As a reference, these fires were hot enough to melt cars’ aluminum rims. Although the melting points of gold, silver, and bronze are higher than that of aluminum, these photos provide some context for how hot the fires were.
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1hxcev5/the_gutwrenching_aftermath_of_flattened/#lightbox
Aluminum melts at 1,200 degrees.
Must have been a Tesla!
Yaaaas we are truly focusing on what really matters, replacing those medals!!!!
What do you want the IOC to do, build him a new house too? They’re already doing more than they need to. In tough times like these for those affected by the fires, extremely sentimental items like those medals can mean the world to someone like Gary
Having a story about it doesn’t mean “focusing”. Most people can think about more than one thing at once.
Wait a minute now, Tani has a point.
Did the IOC replace his weed too? If not, fight the power!
Now please give Shirley Babashoff her gold medals
Yup, Shirley does deserved this. She also spend years delivery mail and this is hard work. She was pretty smart and got an endorsement and put a down payment on a house in Huntington Beach.
Yes please, Shirley deserves those medals!!!
Shirley is one of a few truly great unsung American Sports legends. What a champion.
A small wound healed for Gary. Prayers up for him and all affected!
Thank god, praying for Hall Jr. and his doggo
Saving the dog was the best thing of all this. I thought they would have given him replaced medals.