Polish discus thrower will auction off his silver medal to help child

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Piotr Malachowski of Poland won a silver medal in the discus throw last week, and has announced on his Facebook page that he’ll be auctioning off the medal to help pay for treatment for an ill young boy.

Three-year-old Olek Szymanski suffers from retinoblastoma. Malachowski hopes that he’ll be able to raise enough money to save the boy’s eyes, a treatment that is not available in Poland.

“In Rio I fought for gold,” Malachowski said on his Facebook profile. “Today I call on all people – let us fight together for something that is even more valuable. For the health of this fantastic boy.”

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Siepomaga, a Polish charitable organization, has raised about one-third of the $126,000 (480,000 zlotys) necessary to fund the treatment. As of Sunday evening, Malachowski’s auction had reached about $20,000, with the auction scheduled to end on Aug. 26.

“I invite everybody to join the bidding,” Malachowski said. “If you help me, my silver medal may be more valuable for Olek than gold.”

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.