Olga Korbut, the gymnastics darling of the 1972 Munich Olympics who has apparently fallen on hard times, has sold off her Games medals and other trophies through a US auction house.
Thirty-two lots, including two golds and a silver from the Munich Olympics, fetched USD 333,500 , in a weekend online sale by Heritage Auctions for the former Soviet gymnast who now lives in Arizona, auction house spokesman Chris Ivy told Reuters on Monday.
The top item was her team gold medal, which brought USD 66,000 for the 61-year-old Korbut, a native Belarusian who moved to the United States in 1991.
At the age of 17, the 4-foot-11 (1.5 m) Olga Korbut made a giant impression across the globe at the Munich Games with electrifying routines that brought her team, balance beam and floor exercise gold and a silver in the uneven bars.
Four years later Olga Korbut, who triggered an explosion of interest in gymnastics, added another gold and a silver at the Montreal Olympics.
Sale items included one of her performance leotards, her 1972 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and various Soviet medals.
