Gary Hall Jr. Gets 10 Replica Olympic Medals from IOC After His Were Lost in LA Fires

Retired swimmer Gary Hall Jr. formally received 10 replicas of the Summer Olympics medals he lost during the Los Angeles wildfires in January.

"When we were reading your tragic story of losing your house and all your possessions and all your worldly properties, this was going straight to our heart," International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said.

Hall represented the United States at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer Games. He collected five gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes, twice winning the individual 50-meter freestyle.

With the wildfires ongoing, Hall said in January he was among the countless residents in the L.A. area who had been displaced. He told Sky News he had to quickly evacuate and leave behind "everything of sentimental value," including his Olympic medals.

In addition to thanking Bach, Hall remarked on what getting his medals back represented.

"The realization through this process that outweighs any sense of loss is this word of solidarity and what it means which cannot be taken away," he said.