When slalom canoeing sensation Klaudia Zwolińska took silver at this year’s Paris Olympics, she became the first Pole to win a medal at the championships – she also pledged to give it to charity.
On Friday that promise came true, as the coveted medal went up for auction to raise money for the Polish Society Against Cystic Fibrosis (PTWM).
Within hours of going live, bidding had already risen to over 25,000 zl (€ 5,800), with nine days still to go.
In a heartfelt message posted online after the auction began, the 25-year-old Olympian said: “This medal is priceless to me, because it is a symbol of hard work and the pinnacle of sports dreams.
“Winning it, the moment when you can stand on the Olympic podium, is a dream of many, if not all athletes.
“I want this fulfilled dream of mine to be shared, even if only symbolically, by others – especially those who have to work very hard for every breath they take throughout their lives, from birth.
“I donated the medal to a charity auction for the Polish Cystic Fibrosis Society, which will be able to use the money from the auction to help those most in need, those with cystic fibrosis.”
Cystic fibrosis is a deeply personal issue for Zwolińska. Her fiancé, Grzegorz Hedwig, also an Olympian and slalom canoeist, lost his older sister, Iga, to the disease at age 22.
His younger sister also suffers from cystic fibrosis, and their mother, Dorota, has been actively working to improve the lives of affected individuals.
Zwolińska said: “I know how difficult it is to live with this disease, what a deadly toll cystic fibrosis has taken for years among young people and how many sacrifices it still brings to the sick.
“Even though the reality of many patients has changed a lot over the last few years due to modern drugs. I also know that not everyone can use them and they still face this disease almost defenseless.”
According to Dorota Sands, president of the PTWM, approximately 1,800 people in Poland are affected by the disease.
Monthly treatment can cost tens of thousands of zlotys, with some medications reimbursed only for a limited group.
This year’s Olympic medals were designed by the famous jewelry house Chaumet, with the silver medal weighing 529 grams and measuring 8.5cm in diameter and almost 1cm in thickness.
The front bears the inscription “Paris 2024,” and the reverse features an image of the ancient Greek goddess of victory, Nike.
Following a legacy of athletic charity
By offering the medal up for auction, Zwolińska has followed in the footsteps of other prominent Polish athletes who have supported cystic fibrosis patients.
Previously, cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk-Tekieli, a long-time ambassador for PTWM, auctioned off a gold bar from her 2014 Sochi Olympics and a BMW X1 car she won in 2013.
Acclaimed mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel also contributed to PTWM by donating equipment from his 2016 Snow Leopard expedition, which involved scaling five peaks over 7,000 meters in the former Soviet Union.
Additionally, swimmer Otylia Jędrzejczak auctioned her Olympic gold medal from Athens 2004, raising 257,550 zlotys for the Clinical Department of Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation, Oncology and Haematology in Wrocław.
Bidding is open until September 16. For more details and to place a bid, click here.
Within hours of going live, bidding had already risen to over 25,000 zl (€ 5,800), with nine days still to go.
In a heartfelt message posted online after the auction began, the 25-year-old Olympian said: “This medal is priceless to me, because it is a symbol of hard work and the pinnacle of sports dreams.
“Winning it, the moment when you can stand on the Olympic podium, is a dream of many, if not all athletes.
“I want this fulfilled dream of mine to be shared, even if only symbolically, by others – especially those who have to work very hard for every breath they take throughout their lives, from birth.
“I donated the medal to a charity auction for the Polish Cystic Fibrosis Society, which will be able to use the money from the auction to help those most in need, those with cystic fibrosis.”
A personal connectionWspaniała Klaudia Zwolińska 💪
— TVP SPORT (@sport_tvppl) July 31, 2024
Nasza pierwsza medalistka postanowiła oddać swój medal na akcję charytatywną. Piękny cel ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xkgwM16DmG
Cystic fibrosis is a deeply personal issue for Zwolińska. Her fiancé, Grzegorz Hedwig, also an Olympian and slalom canoeist, lost his older sister, Iga, to the disease at age 22.
His younger sister also suffers from cystic fibrosis, and their mother, Dorota, has been actively working to improve the lives of affected individuals.
Zwolińska said: “I know how difficult it is to live with this disease, what a deadly toll cystic fibrosis has taken for years among young people and how many sacrifices it still brings to the sick.
“Even though the reality of many patients has changed a lot over the last few years due to modern drugs. I also know that not everyone can use them and they still face this disease almost defenseless.”
According to Dorota Sands, president of the PTWM, approximately 1,800 people in Poland are affected by the disease.
Monthly treatment can cost tens of thousands of zlotys, with some medications reimbursed only for a limited group.
This year’s Olympic medals were designed by the famous jewelry house Chaumet, with the silver medal weighing 529 grams and measuring 8.5cm in diameter and almost 1cm in thickness.
The front bears the inscription “Paris 2024,” and the reverse features an image of the ancient Greek goddess of victory, Nike.
Following a legacy of athletic charity
By offering the medal up for auction, Zwolińska has followed in the footsteps of other prominent Polish athletes who have supported cystic fibrosis patients.
Previously, cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk-Tekieli, a long-time ambassador for PTWM, auctioned off a gold bar from her 2014 Sochi Olympics and a BMW X1 car she won in 2013.
Acclaimed mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel also contributed to PTWM by donating equipment from his 2016 Snow Leopard expedition, which involved scaling five peaks over 7,000 meters in the former Soviet Union.
Additionally, swimmer Otylia Jędrzejczak auctioned her Olympic gold medal from Athens 2004, raising 257,550 zlotys for the Clinical Department of Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation, Oncology and Haematology in Wrocław.
Bidding is open until September 16. For more details and to place a bid, click here.
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