The LA fires had former gold medal U.S. Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr. feeling as if he were in a horror movie as he lost almost everything everything he owns, including his home and 10 Olympics medals.
“It was worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1,000 times worse,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “It’s mayhem in Los Angeles. We were surrounded by flames. The embers were raining down on me as I jumped into my car. I had time to grab my dog and just a couple of personal items. It’s just every person for themselves. It’s tough. It’s a big loss … and everything I own.”
Hall Jr., who won five gold medals while competing in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics, told the outlet he was speaking on the phone with his daughter when he noticed a “plume of smoke” over the back of his rented house in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles.
Flames began to “erupt,” explosions ensued and “houses start popping,” he said.
The 50-year-old detailed how famous Sunset Boulevard became a complete logjam.
He has since relocated to be with his family in San Diego, per a GoFundMe page set up for him which has raised more than $15,000 as of 10 a.m. Thursday.
“People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that,” Hall Jr. told the publication. “My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke.”
Hall said he not only lost his 10 Olympics medals — five gold, three silver and two bronze — but also his world championship medals and other memorabilia from his decorated career.
Hall also lost his swimming pool, which he uses to privately teach children to swim via his Sea Monkeys Swimming program.
The GoFundMe page said Hall Jr. managed to collect his dog Puddles, insulin, a painting of his grandfather and a religious item from his daughter, Gigi, before exiting.
“I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them,” Hall Jr. told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?
“It’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood. I’ll shift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know.
“There is no time to take photos or videos when running for your life.”
Hall Jr. established himself as one of the world’s best swimmers not only with his gold medals but his antics, which included his famous remarks before the 2000 Games in which he said America would “smash them (Australia) like guitars” in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
The Aussies ultimately triumphed over the runner-up.Americans.
“It’s not just about me. My home and my business burnt to the ground. Time to start a new chapter,” Hall told the outlet. “I’m fortunate that in chaos I’m able to maintain calm. We were told to run for our lives.”
