By Former US Olympian Gary Hall Jr. won 10 Olympic medals and six world championship medals in his swimming career. He believes he’s lost them all in the Palisades wildfire, he said to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It was worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1,000 times worse,” he said to the Australian news outlet.
“I was on the phone with my daughter. I noticed a plume of smoke coming over the back side of my house. I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time.
“Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke.
“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.
“It’s tough. It’s a big loss … and everything I own.”
Hall, known for his speed and showmanship, represented the US in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He won 10 Olympic medals, including five gold medals. He also won three gold and three silver world championship medals.
Hall was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1999. He is the son of Gary Hall Sr., who won medals at three Olympic Games.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the younger Hall, which says, “Gary Jr. lost his home and his livelihood in the devastating Palisades Fire on January 7th.
“Gary saw flames out his window while he was at home before collecting his dog, Puddles, his insulin, a painting of his grandfather, and a religious wooden piece his daughter Gigi gave him and drove towards the ocean as quickly as possible.
“He was forced to leave behind everything else he owned, such as irreplaceable family heirlooms, photos, and more. He has also most likely lost his ten Olympic medals, but nothing can take away his spirit that won those medals.”
Hall, 50, told the Sydney Morning Herald he thought about the medals, but he did not have time to get them.
“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’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood. I’ll shift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know.
“There’s no time to take photos or videos when running for your life.”
