Polish Olympian auctions silver medal to raise funds for infant’s heart surgery, wins social media praise

Maria Andrejczyk, 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 child knowing how much she had to ‘fight against adversity and pain’. AP

Winning a medal at the Olympics is the dream of every athlete. Sportspersons sacrifice many things in their lives to get a chance to compete and win at the Olympics. But few can sacrifice that dream for someone else.

To help pay for an eight-month old child’s heart surgery, Polish javelin thrower Maria Andrejczyk has auctioned the silver medal she won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 25-year old Olympian decided to auction her medal to raise money for Miłoszek Małysa, who suffers from a serious heart defect.

Talking about Małysa’s condition, Andrejczyk said “it didn’t take me long to decide”. She said that “it was the first fundraiser I entered and I knew it was the right one.”

The athlete added that the real value of a medal “always remains in the heart”.

Andrejczyk’s warm gesture has won the hearts of people. Many social media users praised the sportsperson for giving up her medal for such a noble cause, with many calling her “a real life heroine”.

The medal was bought by Żabka Polska, a Polish supermarket chain with a bid of $125,000. The Olympian later thanked the company in an Instagram post.

The supermarket chain was so moved by Andrejczyk’s decision to sell her medal that it decided to return it to her.

Małysa’s family had created a fundraising page to collect money for the child’s surgery, with a goal of 1.5 million Polish zloty. The baby has been refused surgery by many hospitals in Europe due to the complicated nature of the case. The family hopes that the child can be treated at the Stanford University Medical Center.