Polish Olympian to Sell Bronze Medal to Help Sick Five-Year-Old
The 2012 Summer Games are over. But the Olympic spirit lives on thanks to Polish windsurfer Zofia Noceti-Klepacka, who will fulfill the promise she made to the family of a five-year-old who suffers from cystic fibrosis by selling her bronze medal.
Klepacka lives next door to the family, who have struggled to pay for little Zuzia’s medication and her five operations. Before leaving for the games, Klepacka told her neighbors that if she happened to medal she would auction the award off and donate the proceeds to Zuzia’s care.
Of course that’s easy to say before you actually have a medal. But when Kepacka did take third place in the RS-X event, she didn’t waver in her commitment.
Zuzia is my neighbor, I know her since birth. I’ve seen [all of her problems], how many times [she] was in the hospital, she spent much time there, her mom,” she told Polskie Radio. “Everyone here is praying that Zuzia survives. Now maybe you can not see it, but cystic fibrosis is a fatal disease and I said that I was going to London after the medal for her.”
While Kapacka may be giving up the bronze medal that most athletes would cherish for a lifetime she has certainly established her gold medal credentials as a human being.