Olympic swimming champion loses his 10 medals in California wildfires

'Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt'

Published Jan 10, 2025  •  2 minute read

Gary Hall Jr. of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. AP Photo

Gary Hall Jr., a U.S. swimmer who won 10 Olympic medals including five golds, lost them all in the Los Angeles-area wildfires.

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The three-time Olympian is among the thousands who have been displaced and lost their homes due to the fires raging in California.

However, while his prized possessions may be gone, Hall said he is grateful just to have walked away safely.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Hall recalled the moment he first saw a “plume of smoke” coming from his backyard.

The former Olympian, now 50, said he was on the phone with his daughter when things began to get dangerous.

“I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time,” he told the outlet. “Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke.”

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With the wildfires spreading quickly, Hall only had time to grab the essentials, including his dog and a few personal items.

The house in Pacific Palisades that he was renting was burnt down and, with it, all of his personal belongs – including the medals.

Hall said that while he thought about them when he was escaping, the seriousness of the situation did not allow any time for him to grab them.

“I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them,” Hall told the outlet. “Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt.”

He also took a very zen-like approach to his loss, saying: “It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?”

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In a statement echoed by many during this tragic disaster, Hall described the scene as “worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1,000 times worse.”

Hall also used his home to run a business teaching kids to swim.

He said that when the time comes to return to the house, it’ll be emotional.

“It’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood,” he said. “I’ll sift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know.”

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