Olympian who beat bone cancer sells medal to save toddler
Olympic medallist Maria Andrejczyk has decided to auction off her silver medal for a very worthwhile cause.
The Polish athlete, who won the silver medal for her outstanding performance in javelin, is auctioning off the medal to help fun a toddler's life-saving heart surgery.
After beating bone cancer herself, the Olympian wants to help the young boy and his family pay for the operation, which comes with a hefty cost of $246,000.
The 25-year-old athlete took to her Facebook page to call for her fans to help her.
She said, “Miloszek has a serious heart defect. He needs an operation."
“He already has a head start from Kubus — a boy who didn’t make it in time but whose amazing parents decided to pass on the funds they collected."
“And in this way, I also want to help. It’s for him that I am auctioning my Olympic silver medal.”
Maria missed out on an Olympic medal at Rio in 2016, before having to sit out the following year for a shoulder injury, which later led to her cancer diagnosis in 2018.
After making it to the podium in Japan, she explained why she will be using her medal to help those in need.
On a Polish television show, she said, “The true value of a medal always remains in the heart. A medal is only an object, but it can be of great value to others."
“This silver can save lives, instead of collecting dust in a closet. That is why I decided to auction it to help sick children.”
Maria's personal best of 71.4 metres is the third longest ever thrown by a woman in javelin, but her kind action will go much further.
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