Gymnast Korbut sells gold medal for $86K

What's an Olympic gold medal worth? For former gymnast Olga Korbut $86,000.

Olga Korbut of the Soviet Union at the Montreal Olympics

Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut has sold five medals, including an Olympic gold she won in Montreal. (AAP)

How much is a 1972 gold medal won by Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut worth? According to a recent auction, $66,000 ($A86,000).

Korbut let go of five of her medals, including the gold she won in team competition in 1972. Heritage Auctions said in a release on Tuesday that her 1976 gold was auctioned for more than $57,000 ($A74,000) last weekend.

Korbut, nicknamed "The Sparrow from Minsk," sprang onto the Olympic scene by performing acrobatics no one had seen before. She won three golds and a silver as a 17-year-old at the 1972 Munich Games, and added a gold and silver at Montreal in 1976.

Korbut, who lives in Arizona, says she sold her medals to share her Olympic experiences, not because she is in any sort of financial crisis.


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Source: AAP



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