‘Tragedy at every level:’ Olympic swimmer’s home burns down in Palisades Fire
LOS ANGELES (AZFamily) — Arizona swimming legend and 10-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr. lost his home in the Southern California fires. His house is one of the hundreds that burned in the Pacific Palisades.
“The trauma that I just experienced, you can’t prepare yourself for. There’s just no way to,” he said.
Hall said his home was just down the street from where the Palisades Fire began. He only had moments to grab things and get out when the fire started.
“When I was going out to the car, burning embers were raining down on me,” he said.
Hall said the scene was apocalyptic, with homes, buildings and businesses burnt to the ground.
“It’s a tragedy at every level and just devastated so many people,” he said.
So far, officials say close to 180,000 people have been evacuated from the Pacific coast to Pasadena.
Hall said that as the region continues to burn, he has lost everything and will have to start over from scratch.
“I got nothing. Everybody wants to know, ‘did your Olympic metals burn?’ Yes, they’re gone, along with everything else,” he said.
Hall is related to the family that owns Hubbard Swim Schools across the Valley, and his grandfather, financier Charles Keating, founded the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale.
Gary Hall Jr. was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 and won back-to-back gold medals in the men’s 50-meter freestyle in Sydney in 2000 and in 2004 at the Olympics in Athens.
He also won three gold medals as a member of Team USA’s relay teams during the ‘96 games in Atlanta. In addition, he won three silvers and two bronzes during his Olympic career.
Hall is currently staying with his sister in Encinitas, California. His sister started a GoFundMe to help him during this time..
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