His Olympic medals were destroyed in the LA fires. Here's how the Olympic commitee responded

SALT LAKE CITY — When Olympic champion swimmer Gary Hall Jr. saw flames closing in on his Pacific Palisades home on Jan. 7, he was able to grab his dog, Puddles, and the insulin he needs to stay alive but little else before fleeing the deadly fire.

Left behind were the 10 Olympic medals he'd won as a member of Team USA. His five gold, three silver and two bronze medals were from three Summer Games, in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, and Athens in 2004.

"I saw houses start to catch fire and knew that it was time to go. I didn't have much time. I opened up the back of my SUV and started loading it. After my first trip, I started feeling the embers raining down on me and wasn't going to stick around to find out how much time I had before my house went up," Hall, 50, told Sky News.

At that point, according to the Associated Press recounting of Hall's interview at his sister's home in San Diego, he "jumped in the car and abandoned my home, my Olympic medals, and everything of sentimental value that I possess."

A YouTube video of what is said to be Hall's home showed nothing left.

His story attracted worldwide attention as the fires in Los Angeles continue to burn out of control, killing at least 25 people and destroying more than 10,000 homes and other structures, including much of Pacific Palisades.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, an Olympic champion fencer for his native Germany, announced in a statement Sunday that the medals Hall lost will be replaced.

"We are in full solidarity with the citizens of Los Angeles and full of admiration for the tireless work of the firefighters and the security forces," Bach posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property. We have also learned that a great Olympian, Gary Hall Jr., has lost his medals in the fire. The International Olympic Committee will provide him with replicas," Bach's post said.

Hall expressed gratitude to the International Olympic Committee, as well to everyone who has reached out to help him, People magazine reported. A GoFundMe account set up by his sister with a goal of raising $50,000 had collected more than $80,000 as of Wednesday morning.

"I'm touched by the outpouring of support," Hall told People magazine. "While that means a lot to me, it's, you know, the high school friend that I haven't seen in 20 years who's made a $100 donation to my GoFundMe campaign and things like that, to me, that are as valuable as the International Olympic Committee stepping up and saying that they'll replace the medals."

He added that he's "so appreciative, but the medals are just one thing. A medal replacement can't provide the necessities of life, like rent and stuff like that. But yeah, I just am so grateful to everybody that's reached out."

As a competitor, Hall was "known for his 'pro-wrestling like' antics before a competition; frequently strutting onto the pool deck in patriotic red, white and blue boxing shorts and robe, shadow boxing and flexing his muscles before races," according to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

Now a children's swim coach, Hall was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1999, after his first Olympics. Despite needing daily insulin shots, he went on to represent the United States in two more Summer Games, just as his father had done as an Olympic swimmer.

"They told me it couldn't be done in '96, because I was too immature, and then they said in 2000 I had diabetes and it couldn't be done," Hall told the Washington Times after medaling again in his third Olympics in 2004. "And this time I think they said I was too old."

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