Olympian and Polish javelin thrower Maria Andrejczyk is not just a great athlete, but she is also a great human being.

She has proved this by auctioning off her Olympic silver medal from the Tokyo games for US$125,000 (RM530,000) to pay for an infant’s surgery cost.

How sweet is that?

According to a report in Malay Mail, it all started when the 25-year-old saw a fundraiser to aid eight-month-old Miloszek Malysa who has a serious heart defect.



“'It didn't take me long to decide, it was the first fundraiser I entered, and I knew it was the right one.

“Miloszek has a serious heart defect and needs surgery.

“He already has a head start from Kubus — a boy who didn’t make it in time but whose amazing parents decided to pass on the funds they collected.

“And in this way, I also want to help. It’s for him that I am auctioning my Olympic silver medal,” she posted on her Facebook page.

She learnt that the total cost of the surgery needed for Malysa is about US$383,421.00 (RM1.6 million).

As half of the cost has been collected, she wants to help with the rest, hence the decision to auction off the medal.

She gets to keep the medal thanks to more kindhearted people

A post shared by Maria M. Andrejczyk (@m.andrejczyk)



Andrejczyk later confirmed on her Instagram and Facebook that she has managed to auction off her silver medal for a sum of US$125,000 (RM530,000) to Polish supermarket chain, Zabka.

“It is with great pleasure to give you this medal, which for me is a symbol of struggle, faith and the pursuit of dreams despite many adversities.

“I hope that for you, it will be a symbol of the life we fought together,” she wrote on her Facebook.

Despite that, it seems that the medal is never meant to be auctioned off.

Yes, in a plot twist, Zabka decided to return the medal to its owner.

“We were moved by the beautiful and extremely noble gesture of our Olympija girl.

“That is why we decided to support the collection of funds for the benefits of Miloszek.

“We also decided that the silver medal from Tokyo will stay with Ms.Maria who has shown how great she is.”

This is humanity at its best!