Polish Olympian sells medal to help ailing boy
What's the story
Piotr Malachowski, a Polish discus thrower, auctioned off the silver medal he won at the Rio Olympics. Earlier this week, he made a plea on Facebook explaining that he felt compelled to raise funds for the treatment of a young boy battling a rare eye cancer. He requested his followers and said "If you help me, my silver can be more precious than gold."
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Piotr Malachowski
Piotr Malachowski, a 33 year old Polish discus thrower, won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics when he finished 82cm adrift of Germany's Christoph Harting. He also won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In the Rio Olympics, 2016, Poland took home a total of 11 medals, including two golds, three silvers and six bronzes.
Details
Funds for sick boy's surgery
The Polish foundation Siepomaga had already raised one-third of $126,000, the total cost of treatment for three year old Olek Szymanski. Piotr Malachowski requested his social media followers to help him raise the remaining $84,000 to treat Olek's retinoblastoma. Soon after, Malachowski announced that Polish billionaires, Sebastian and Dominika Kulczyk, had agreed to purchase his medal for the remaining cost of surgery.
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Polish Billionaires
The Kulczyks, Dominika and Sebastian, are brother and sister who are worth a combined $3.5 billion. They inherited their wealth from their father who passed away suddenly last year due to post-surgery complications.
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Małachowski's expresses gratitude
Małachowski wrote on Facebook: "We were able to show that together we can do wonders. My silver medal today is worth a lot more than a week ago. It is worth the life and health of a small Olek. It is our great shared success."