She's only had her silver medal from the Tokyo Olympics for a few weeks, but Polish javelin thrower Maria Andrejczyk was prepared to part with it for a good cause.
Andrejczyk, 25, recently heard the story of Miłoszek Małysa, an 8-month-old from Poland in need of heart surgery. The baby's family needed money to cover the surgery and travel to the United States, and Andrejczyk, a bone cancer survivor, thought that if she auctioned off her medal, she could quickly get the amount necessary.
Żabka, a Polish convenience store chain, had the winning bid of $125,000, and Andrejczyk wrote on Facebook that her medal was "a symbol of struggle, faith, and pursuit of dreams despite many odds. I hope that for you it will be a symbol of the life we fought for together." In a surprise twist, the company tweeted on Monday that it was moved by Andrejczyk's "beautiful and extremely noble gesture," and they wanted the Olympian to keep her medal. Enough money has now been raised for Małysa to have his surgery, CBS News reports.
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