Former USA Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Gary Hall Jr. has lost all his medals in the raging Los Angeles wildfires. The LA area is burning for days now, forcing people to evacuate their homes and belongings and get to safety. Hall is one of those people whose house burned down in the wildfire.

Advertisment

Olympian loses gold medals in LA wildfire

"It was worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1000 times worse," Hall told Australian media outlet the Sydney Morning Herald.

Also Read: LA Wildfires: NFL, teams donate $5 million to help tackle inferno

Advertisment

"I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them," Hall Jr said. "Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?"

"It’s mayhem in Los Angeles. We were surrounded by flames. The embers were raining down on me as I jumped into my car. I had time to grab my dog and just a couple of personal items. It’s just every person for themselves," he added.

Hall had represented the USA in 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens) Olympics. He won gold medals in 50-metre freestyle in back-to-back Olympics in 2000 and 2004 editions. He had also won three golds in 1996 edition as part of the Team USA relay teams. His other medals included three silvers and two bronze medals.

Advertisment

The wildfire has gutted down nearly 10,000 homes and killed 10 people so far in the LA area with firefighters finding it difficult to contain the catastrophe. Hall used LA as a base for his business including teaching kids swimming at his now burned down house.

United States Olympics and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) were not aware of Hall situation but would now be reaching out to the Olympian.

In addition, USA Swimming will also be helping out Hall and other affected athletes.