An Olympian has sold his medal to help fund cancer treatment for a 3-year-old boy.
Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski auctioned off the silver medal he won at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics to help pay for the medication of Olek, who suffers from retinoblastoma.
The 33-year-old world champion wrote on his Facebook page that he was moved to sell his accolade after receiving a letter from the mother of a boy called Olek who said he had been battling a rare form of eye cancer for two years.
According to Malachowski, the boy needs to travel to New York to receive specialist treatment which is not available in Poland.
Malachowski said that siblings Dominika and Sebastian Kulczyk, among the richest Poles in the world, “declared the intention to buy my silver medal”, which he put up for auction to help pay for treatment of the boy, Olek, who is suffering from retinoblastoma.
Malachowski did not reveal the amount raised, but said the target – which was almost 500,000 zlotys ($125,000) – had been met.
“My silver medal is worth much more today than it was a week ago,” Malachowski said.