Polish Olympian Auctions Silver Medal to Help Sick Child

Silver medalist Maria Andrejczyk, of Poland, poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the women's javelin throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, on Aug. 7, 2021. Martin Meissner/AP Photo

WARSAW, Poland—An Olympic athlete from Poland auctioned her silver medal from the Tokyo Games to raise money for a life-saving operation for an infant boy, and then was told by the buyer that she could keep her prize.

Maria Andrejczyk, a 25-year-old javelin thrower who overcame bone cancer and a shoulder injury to compete at this year’s Olympics, said she decided to auction her medal to help the boy knowing how much she had to “fight against adversity and pain.”