Charlie Hall, Son of Gary Hall Jr., Raising Money for Training Expenses
Charlie Hall, the son of 10-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr., is crowdfunding to pay for a training trip to France.
Charlie Hall is a senior at Torrey Pines High School in California. Despite his bloodlines, Hall only started swimming at age 16. He’s taking a gap year to train first with Coley Stickles in Dallas, then at the training program of Les Dauphins du TOEC in Toulouse, led by French coach Nicolas Castel.
The family is trying to raise $20,000 for Hall to do the six-month program.
“I’ve fallen completely in love with this sport,” Hall wrote in the GoFundMe link. “My father won 10 Olympic medals. My grandfather won three. I’m not riding that legacy. I’m building my own. And I’d be so grateful to have you be part of it. I’m not asking for a shortcut. I’m asking for the chance to see how far my work can take me. If you believe in that kind of thing, please consider sharing this or contributing what you can. It means more than I know how to say. Thank you!”
Hall’s swimming bloodlines are well-established. Gary Hall Jr. won five Olympic gold medals and 10 total medals, including gold in the men’s 50 freestyle at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. (Hall Jr. lost those medals in a fire in the Pacific Palisades in California that destroyed their home, later getting the medals replaced by the International Olympic Committee.) Gary Hall Sr. won three Olympic medals, including silvers in the 400 individual medley and 200 butterfly, over three Olympics in 1968, 1972 and 1976.
