The ten-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr. recently suffered a tragic incident, losing his Olympic medals and almost everything in the Palisades fire.
The legendary swimmer was forced to evacuate his home quickly after the devastating Palisades Fire broke out on January 7, 2025.
Furthermore, Gary Hall Jr. was able to grab a few things, including his insulin, a painting of his grandfather, and a painting of the ‘Blessed Mary‘ given to him by his daughter Gigi Hall, before leaving the house with his dog, Puddles.
He quickly drove towards the ocean as soon as possible with his dog to stay safe and got a hotel that night. Gary is currently staying with his family in San Diego.
Gary lost everything else in the fire, including his irreplaceable family heirlooms, photos, 10 Olympic medals, and many more valuable things.
Likewise, the former swimmer was renting the home, which had a pool located right in the middle of the Palisades Fire, to teach swim lessons to kids in the area through his business, Sea Monkeys Swimming.
In addition to his family’s support, A GoFundMe is created to support Gary Hall Jr. and help him recover from the loss of his home and business.
The fund has raised 40 percent, i.e., $10,100 out of his $25k goal. Amy Botha is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Gary Hall.
With his recent incident, many people are curious to know more about Gary Hall Jr.’s life, including his family and career.
The Olympic Gold Medalist Gary Hall Jr. Comes From An Athletic Family
Gary Wayne Hall Jr. was born on September 26, 1974, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to father Gary Hall Sr. and mother Mary Hall.
He comes from an athletic family and is continuing his family’s legacy in swimming.
Gary Hall Jr.’s father, Gary Sr., is an American former competitive swimmer who won three Olympic medals, including a silver medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1972 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
His father is also a former world record-holder in five events; two years after winning his first Olympic medal, Gary Sr. broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly.
Gary Hall Sr. currently lives in San Diego and operates The Race Club swimming camps founded by Gary Jr. and his father, which provides swimming training for elite swimmers worldwide for the Olympic games.
In addition to his father, Gary’s maternal grandfather, Charles Keating Jr., was a swimming champion for the University of Cincinnati in the 1940s.
Charles Keating won the 200-yard breaststroke at the Ohio Intercollegiate Conference championship in 1945 and the 1946 NCAA 200-yard butterfly national championship.
Moreover, his maternal uncle, Charles Keating III, won the AAU National Championship in 1976 and represented the United States that year at the Montreal Summer Olympics.
Gary Hall Jr.’s son Charles Jameson Hall, aka Charlie Hall, was born on December 10, 2007, and is following his father’s footsteps.
Charlie Hall is an exceptional Water Polo player who currently plays for the Santa Ynez Varsity Water Polo team.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Gary Hall Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth Peterson Hall, welcomed their first child, daughter Gigi Hall, on January 5, 2006. The couple tied the knot in 2001.
- In 1999, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, commonly referred to as childhood or juvenile diabetes.
- His doctor told him he would never swim again competitively, but in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, he earned the honorable title of being the fastest swimmer in the world.
- Gary retired from competitive swimming in 2008, winning 10 Olympic medals, including five gold.
- He is a member of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and travels across the United States to speak at diabetes fund-raisers.
