Olympian sells Rio medal to help boy with cancer
Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski auctions his silver medal to fund specialist treatment
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
A Rio 2016 silver medallist is being hailed as the true embodiment of Olympic spirit after selling off his newly minted medal to fund specialist treatment for a boy with a rare form of cancer.
Piotr Malachowski took second place in the discus to become one of 11 Polish Olympians to bag a medal in Rio. It was his second silver after netting one in Beijing in 2008.
Writing on Facebook after the Games, the 33-year-old athlete, who is the current world and European discus champion, said he had done "everything in [his] power" to bring home the gold.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"But fate gave me a chance to increase the value of my silver," he added.
The Olympian told his followers how he had been contacted by the mother of three-year-old Olek Szymanski, who has spent almost two years battling retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer that affects young children.
As a result, Malachowski said, he was auctioning off his medal to help pay for Olek and his family to travel to New York and receive specialist treatment not currently available in Poland.
He hoped to raise around $84,000 (£64,000) from the sale to top up previous donations and send the little boy to New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, which offers "state-of-the-art care with access to novel therapies and clinical trials not available anywhere else in the country."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"In Rio I fought for the gold," he wrote. "Today I appeal to everyone - let's fight together about something that is even more precious - the health of this fantastic boy."
It wasn't long before Malachowski returned to Facebook to say he had successfully found a buyer for the medal and that all the proceeds would go towards Olek's treatment.
The auction was won by Poland's billionaire siblings Dominika and Sebastian Kulczyk, who "declared their willingness to buy my silver medal for an amount which enables us to meet the goal set", wrote the Malachowski.
"My silver medal today is worth much more than a week ago," he added.
News of the generous gesture spread quickly, with people around the world applauding his compassion. "This is the real Olympic spirit. Bravo!" wrote one admirer, while another added: "You have a true heart of gold."
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military