Polish Olympian Javelin Thrower Auctioned 2020 Tokyo Olympics Silver Medal

Being a cancer survivor, 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Maria Andrejczyk knows what it means to save a life.

When she got word about an infant who needed to travel from Poland to Stanford University in California to undergo life-saving heart surgery, the 25-year-old Polish athlete in the sport of javelin throw decided to auction her silver medal to help raise funds for the eight-month-old boy.

It should be noted that Andrejczyk did not know Miloszek Malysa, the infant who needed the medical procedure.

But upon spotting online pleas by the child’s parents, she felt that it was the right thing to do.

Malysa needed 1.5 million Polish zlotys, roughly $385,000 to cover the costs of transportation and medical care. So far, the family has already collected raised half of that.

To help, the Polish athlete auctioned her silver medal last week. She closed it on Monday, August 16, with a convenience store called Zabka making the winning bid.

But it appears Andrejczyk will end up keeping her silver medal after all. The chain store was moved by her gesture and decided to fork out an undisclosed amount to help the family of the infant.

"We were very touched by the extremely beautiful and noble gesture of our Olympian, so we decided to support the fundraiser for Miłoszek. We decided that [silver medal] from Tokyo will stay with Mrs. Maria! We admire and we are glad that we were able to contribute,” Zabka’s Twitter post read in English.

Andrejczyk is a cancer survivor. A 2018 sinus X-Ray revealed that she was suffering from osteosarcoma, a type of cancer that forms in the cells that form bones.

She required surgery but did not undergo chemotherapy. She was able to restart training for the Tokyo Games in 2019.

Andrejczyk won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she threw 64.61 meters. She was behind China’s Shiying Liu, who recorded 66.34 meters in the event.