Posted: December 20, 2005

Athletics: Sporting History To Be Auctioned And It’s For Charity!

Monte-Carlo - It is approaching auction time for the IAAF’s humanitarian project ‘Athletics for a Better World: The IAAF Stars’ Donation Fund’, offering fans of World and Olympic track and field athletics the chance to buy a piece of unique sporting history. It will all begin on Monday 16 January 2006 with details of the web based auction venue and the bidding process to be confirmed over the coming weeks.

Fifty star athletes from the Olympics’ number one sport, 23 of whom have been World Record breakers during their career have donated items of personal memorabilia associated with some of their greatest sporting triumphs, to the project whose proceeds are to be distributed between three United Nations organizations, FAO, UNICEF and the WFP.

The auction gives an historic chance for fans to own a piece of athletics treasure, from competition tracksuits, vests, shoes, bib numbers, and other items, coins, statues, books, framed photographs…all of which have been received direct from the stars themselves, and are authenticated as being genuine, and in most cases also bear the autograph of the champion concerned.

Never before in the history of sports’ auctioning and the collecting of sporting memorabilia has such a vast array of unique athletics souvenirs been offered on one occasion.

Sprint fans! How about bidding for one of the record breaking 100m spikes of the world’s fastest man ASAFA POWELL (JAM), or one of the gifts donated to the project by legendary Olympic heroes like CARL LEWIS (USA), MICHAEL JOHNSON (USA), and MARIE JOSÉ PÉREC (FRA)? Lewis has presented us with his competition vest from the 1986 Goodwill Games, Johnson has handed over his Sydney Olympic Games track suit, and Pérec has produced her 1995 World Championship 400m winning vest for the auction.

From the world of middle and long distance running, 800m stars MARIA MUTOLA (MOZ) and WILSON KIPKETER (DEN) have been major givers. Mutola has presented her Sydney Olympic Games gold medal winning running kit and team uniform, while Kipketer has donated the vest in which he set the current World record for 800m in 1997. Ethiopian long distance running legends HAILE GEBRSELASSIE (ETH) - 1996 Atlanta Olympic competition number - and KENENISA BEKELE (ETH) - 2003 World Championship gold medal winning vest - have also been exceptionally generous in their donations.

If the field events are more to your liking, then there are donations from two World famous high jumping Swedes, KAJSA BERGQVIST (SWE) and STEFAN HOLM (SWE). Bergqvist has handed over her 2005 World Championship winning jumping shoes, while 2005 European Indoor Championship (2.40m) winning footwear has been offered by Olympic men’s champion Stefan Holm. But if sporting implements are your passion then there is a javelin from three-time Olympic and World champion JAN ZELEZNY (CZE), and a Discus from AL OERTER (USA), who won a staggering five Olympic Games titles in that throw. For the multi-eventers among you, one of the 2004 Olympic Games spikes of Decathlon gold medallist ROMAN SEBRLE (CZE) is also on offer.

And that is to say nothing of the generous assistance provided to the project by its official star patrons: Beatrice Faumuina (NZL – Oceania), Debbie Ferguson (BAH – Americas), Carolina Klüft (SWE – Europe), Koji Murofushi (JPN – Asia), and Paul Tergat (KEN – Africa).

So get on your marks and set for the Athletics memorabilia auction to end all auctions. Check out our special ‘Athletics for a Better World: The IAAF Stars’ Donation Fund’ website for all the latest project news via the following link -IAAF.org and prepare for 16 January 2006 to start your bidding!