DOOM BREAK: Polish Olympian auctions silver medal to help sick child

An Olympic athlete from Poland auctioned her silver medal from the Tokyo Games to raise money for a life-saving operation for an infant boy, and then was told by the buyer that she could keep her prize.

Maria Andrejczyk, a 25-year-old javelin thrower who overcame bone cancer and a shoulder injury to compete at this year’s Olympics, said she decided to auction her medal to help the boy knowing how much he had to “fight against adversity and pain.”

The money is for Milosz Malysa, an infant with a heart defect whose family has been raising funds for him to be operated on in the United States. Milosz’s parents posted last week that the boy was at risk of dying soon without the surgery.

Zabka, a popular convenience store chain in Poland, bid 200,000 zlotys ($51,000) but said it would let the athlete keep her medal.

“We were moved by the beautiful and extremely noble gesture of our Olympian,” Zabka said.

"The true value of a medal always remains in the heart," Maria said, per the Times of London. "A medal is only an object, but it can be of great value to others. This silver can save lives, instead of collecting dust in a closet. That is why I decided to auction it to help sick children."

Zabka confirmed that it made the winning bid with a Facebook message reading: "We were moved by the beautiful and extremely noble gesture" made by Andrejczyk.

Zabka gracefully declined to accept the silver medal.

"We also decided that the silver medal from Tokyo will stay with Ms. Maria."

[link to sports.yahoo.com (secure)]

Last Edited by Where Eagles Dare on 08/19/2021 06:18 PM