Polish Olympic windsurfer to auction medal for ill girl

18 August BBC

A Polish windsurfer who won bronze at the London Olympics is to auction her medal to help the seriously ill daughter of her neighbours.Zofia Noceti-Klepacka, who took part in the Women's RS-X race, says the money will be used to pay for the treatment of five-year-old Zuzanna Bobinska, who has cystic fibrosis.

Before the games, Ms Noceti-Klepacka vowed to win a medal for "Zuzia".She also promised the girl a bouncy castle and holidays."I promise you I'll get this medal for you. And when we have it, we'll sell it and buy a large bouncy castle.

With a slide," she wrote on a social networking site in January, according to Polish media."We'll spend every autumn in warm countries. So you'll no longer be sick.""Zuzia is my most faithful fan, and probably the youngest. She is also fighting, but with a disease. Zuzia, I'll blow away these games for you!"Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited condition which affects the functioning of organs including the lungs.

The average life expectancy of someone with CF is between thirty and forty years.Writing on Facebook on Tuesday, Ms Noceti-Klepacka said the auction of her medal would be held "soon", and urged others to donate money for Zuzia in the meantime.

She says that at one point during the race, she had a moment of doubt when she lost points for taking a wrong turn."Zuzia called me and said I had to fight on - for honour!" she told Polish broadcaster TVN24."But look, Zuzia, I do have a medal and will sell it, and the money will be for you!"