Olympian Maria Andrejczyk has auctioned her silver medal to help fund a child’s medical procedure.
Andrejczyk placed second in the javelin at the Tokyo Games, a triumph after she missed a medal by just 2cm at Rio 2016. She claimed her silver medal only a week ago.
But as a survivor of bone cancer, the Polish star was intent on paying forward her good fortune. She asked the public for suggestions and decided to help an eight-month-old boy called Miloszek Małysa, who needs heart surgery.
“Miloszek has a serious heart defect. He needs an operation,” Andrejczyk, 25, wrote on Facebook.
“He already has a head start from Kubus – a boy who didn’t make it in time but whose amazing parents decided to pass on the funds they collected.
“And in this way, I also want to help. It’s for him that I am auctioning my Olympic silver medal.”
Andrejczyk also told Polish television: “The true value of a medal always remains in the heart.
“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.”
Miloszek needs surgery in the United States, at Stanford University. He has numerous complex heart problems, including Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (TAPVC); major disfunction of his pulmonary veins. A donation page on his behalf was seeking $525,000 to cover all costs.
Andrejczyk’s selfless gesture, organised with Miloszek’s family, proved wonderfully successful.
The winning bid for her medal, plus other donations made during the auction, totalled about $260,000; covering roughly half the cost. The entire sum has now almost been met, in part thanks to the awareness raised by Andrejczyk.
Better yet, the auction winner – Polish supermarket chain Żabka – paid the bid sum then insisted that Andrejczyk keep her medal.
“We were moved by the beautiful and extremely noble gesture of our Olympian,” a spokesperson said.
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