Jesse Owens Olympic gold sells for $US1.4m

An anonymous bidder has paid $US1,466,574 for a gold medal won by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Jesse Owens' gold medal is displayed from his 1936 Olympics win.

An anonymous bidder has paid $A1.6 million for an Olympic gold medal won by Jesse Owens in 1936. (AAP)

An Olympic gold medal won by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Games has sold for a record $US1.4 million ($A1.6 million) in an online auction.

SCP Auctions says an anonymous bidder paid $1,466,574, the highest price for a piece of Olympic memorabilia.

The online auction ended on Sunday.

Owens won gold in the 100- and 200-metres, 400-metre relay and long jump at the games attended by Adolf Hitler, who used the Olympics to showcase his ideas of Aryan supremacy.

According to the auction house based in Laguna Niguel, California, the medal is unidentifiable to a specific event.

It says Owens gave the medal to his friend, dancer and movie star Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, as thanks for helping Owens find work in entertainment after he returned from Berlin.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world