LEGENDARY GYMNAST OLGA Korbut has sold her collection of medals won at the 1972 Munich Olympic games among a sale of memorabilia at an auction in the United States, auctioneers said.
Korbut, 61, captured the imagination of the sporting world with her spellbinding displays in Munich before competing at the Montreal Games four years later.
The Arizona-based former Soviet gymnast sold her medals through Heritage Auctions after falling on hard times, according to reports in Russia. Gazeta.ru says the sale “saved Korbut from starvation”.
The sale of seven lots — which included two golds and a silver from Munich — raised around €217,000 the auction house said.
Her team gold raised $66,000. The other gold sold was her individual floor exercise medal.
Korbut’s other individual gold medal, for the balance beam in Munich, was not part of the sale because it was stolen previously.
Korbut’s groundbreaking displays in Munich were credited with widening the appeal of gymnastics around the world, with the diminutive Belarusian star known as the “Sparrow of Minsk” also changing the way athletes from behind the Iron Curtain were viewed.
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