zofia noceti-klepacka, a 26yo polish windsurfer,
finally earned a medal at the london games:
a third-place bronze at her third olympics.
three was clearly the magic number for noceti-klepacka —
& for another polish girl, named zuzia.
prior to coming to london, noceti-klepacka pledged
that if she won a medal at the games, then she would
sell it by auction, with the proceeds going to 5yo zuzia,
a neighbor of noceti-klepacka's who has cystic fibrosis.
cystic fibrosis is a chronic, ultimately fatal disease
that targets the lungs & digestive tract,
causing ongoing infections & breathing difficulties.
noceti-klepacka — a mother herself to 2yo son mariano — has known zuzia since birth.
the little girl — who is noceti-klepacka's biggest fan —
has already undergone five surgeries & requires constant care,
a huge financial burden for her family to bear.
noceti-klepacka won the bronze in the women's rs-x —
a windsurfing event involving a heavy sailboard —
behind gold-medalist marina alabau of spain &
finland's tuuli petaja, who took the silver.
noceti-klepacka finished just in time —
three seconds faster than another finnish rival,
& in the summer olympics' final year of windsurfing competition;
the sport will be replaced by kiteboarding in the 2016 rio games.
no word yet about where or when the medal will be auctioned.
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