“This silver can save lives, instead of collecting dust in a closet.”
Polish javelin thrower Maria Andrejczyk won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, but her heart is clearly made of nothing but gold.
The 25-year-old athlete, who came second in the women’s javelin throw at 64.61-metres, saw an online fundraiser for the surgery of an 8-month-old boy with a heart defect.
Maria, herself a survivor of bone cancer, decided to auction off her medal in order to raise funds for baby Miłoszek Małysa’s operation at Stanford University Medical Center.
In an interview with Eurosport Polska, Maria said that winning the medal brought her “enormous happiness” and that she wanted to “pass that happiness on.”
“The true value of a medal always remains in the heart,” she said. “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.”
The fundraising page says little Miłoszek is in dire condition and is currently receiving hospice care at home in Poland as he awaits the surgery. His heart defect causes his blood pressure to soar and damage arteries in his lungs and heart.
According to reports, Maria, who finished in fourth place at the Rio Olympics in 2016, began having health problems after the games.
Her career in javelin throwing was first threatened by a shoulder injury that required surgery and a recovery process that excluded her from the sport for months. Then, in 2018, she was diagnosed with bone cancer.
“I’m very proud of myself,” she told Białystok Polskie Radio following her silver win in Tokyo. “I fought like a lioness through a lot of pain and depression.”
On Monday, the athlete took to her Facebook page to announce that Polish convenience store chain Żabka won the auction with a bid worth over half of what the fundraiser is aiming for (€327,247). As of this article’s publication, the fundraiser is 97% complete.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSpLODRMFL4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
“On Friday I received this wonderful information, and due to the fact that you dears have already done wonders and joint forces have paid more than the equivalent of the initial medal to [Miłoszek’s fundraiser] – I decided to end the auction so that our Miłoszek will receive the whole amount as soon as possible and can fly to the USA,” she wrote.
“The winner, and at the same time, the company I will be eternally grateful to is the company Żabka. It is with the greatest pleasure I give you this medal, which for me is a symbol of struggle, faith and pursuit of dreams despite many odds. I hope that for you it will be a symbol of the life we fought for together.”
It turns out though that the medal won’t be changing hands – Żabka has announced that they were so inspired by her gesture they want her to keep it.
We were moved by the beautiful and extremely noble gesture of our Olympian, so we decided to support the fundraiser for Miłoszek,” Żabka tweeted. “We decided that [the medal] from Tokyo will remain with Maria!”
Byliśmy bardzo poruszeni niezwykle pięknym i szlachetnym gestem naszej Olimpijki, dlatego postanowiliśmy wesprzeć zbiórkę na rzecz Miłoszka. Zdecydowaliśmy, że 🥈 z Tokio zostanie u Pani Marii! Podziwiamy i cieszymy się, że mogliśmy dołożyć swoje 💚! 👉 https://t.co/ddSdDIX9aS
— Żabka Polska (@ZabkaPolska) August 16, 2021
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