This Olympian sold his medal to help pay for a child’s cancer treatment

Heartwarming.

After training immensely hard for years for the Olympic games, winning a medal is probably the most important moment in an athlete's life. But owning a physical medal means very little when compared to the health of a child. Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski won a silver medal at this year's Olympic games in Rio, but decided to auction it off for a very good cause. The mother of a little boy named Olek, got in touch with Piotr after he won the medal to ask him for help in funding Olek's cancer treatment in New York. Three-year-old Olek is suffering from retinoblastoma which is a rare malignant cancer of the eye. Writing on his Facebook page Piotr said "Fate has given me the chance to increase the value of my 'silver'". Piotr explained that his medal would go up for auction and that all the money it sold for would go directly to Olek and his family. He also asked that people send the family money, send text messages and help in any way possible.

 "In Rio, I fought for the gold. Today I appeal to everyone - let's fight together about something that is even more precious. The health of this fantastic boy." Piotr pleaded. Adding: "If you help me, my silver for I can be more precious than gold."

The medal was sold this week, four days after Piotr posted his plea for help. In a new post on Facebook the athlete thanked the many people who came for the auction.

"We were able to show that together we can make miracles. My Silver Medal today is worth much more than a week ago." "This is our big joint success."

We have a lot of respect for the athlete and hope that the gesture will make a big difference to Olek and his family. Read more from SportsJOE: