Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski, who won silver at the Rio Olympics, has auctioned off his medal to fund treatment for a three-year-old boy with cancer.

The 33-year-old world champion wrote on his Facebook page that he was moved to sell his accolade after receiving a letter from the mother of a boy called Olek who said he had been battling a rare form of eye cancer for two years.

According to Malachowski, the boy needs to travel to New York to receive specialist treatment which is not available in Poland.

Image: Piotr Malachowski competing in the Men's Discus Throw Final at the Rio Games

"I fought for gold in Rio. Today I'm calling on everyone to fight for something even more precious," Malachowski wrote.

"If you help me, my silver medal may turn out to be more precious than gold for Olek."


In a TV interview the Olympian added: "I have already proved myself.

"I'm pleased with the result and brought joy to my family, friends and colleagues.

"Now it is an opportunity to please someone else. The medal gains more value if it will be sold in an auction and help save Olek's life and ability to see."

Image: Malachowski (left) won a silver in Rio

Olek's mother said: "He won a silver medal, however he is a champion for us with his gold heart."

In an update on Facebook, Malachowski confirmed that the medal had been sold to two men.

He said: "We were able to show that together we can make miracles.

"This is our big joint success."