Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr. lost all of his medals in the 2025 Los Angeles fires.

When the house he was renting in the Pacific Palisades went up in flames, he had time to grab his insulin medication, his dog, and little else.

Hall had kept his 10 medals — five gold, three silver, and two bronze — in a “fire-proof” safe in his bedroom closet, bringing them out only to share with audiences at speaking engagements.

“It definitely was not fireproof,” he said when he had a chance to return the rubble that was once his home.

After the fires, Hall found his safe on the site where his house had been and looked inside.

“It was basically a pool of melted metal,” Hall said about the medals, which, along with assorted watches and jewelry, had liquified in the blazing heat. “It was all kind of pooled together in one big blob. I was able to pry out, like, these halfmedals that kind of melted together.”

So when the Olympian was honored with a full set of replacement medals, he became understandably emotional at the tremendous gesture. Hall was recognized this May at a ceremony at the International Olympic Headquarters in Switzerland.

Hall attended the event with his son, Charlie, which Hall said was a silver lining despite his loss of the original medals, because his 17-yearold son didn’t see the first ones being won. (Hall represented the United States at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics.)

Image credit: https://www.olympic.com. https://www.olympic.com “Being able to share this experience with him means the world to me,” Hall said.

Hall was also overwhelmed by the feeling of camaraderie he experienced.

“Just the appreciation — ‘one of our own’ was kind of the sense that I was embraced with,” Hall said.

“When tough times happen, you find out who your friends are. And to see this response from the highest level of sport, it makes you feel special. It makes you feel supported, which is so needed at this time. …

“The measurement of our value is how much do we help others, and to be on the receiving end of help and support is both humbling and inspiring.”