Ukrainian gymnast Ruslan Mezentsev, who clinched a silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games has sold it to a museum in Ukraine to raise funds for his country, which is engaged in an ongoing war against Russia.
Ruslan Mezentsev’s Olympic silver sells for $14,438, the gymnast plans to buy bulletproof vests and guns
Menzetsev discerned that the only possession he could use to raise money in a hurry with the turbulent war was the silver medal. The 41-year-old put the medal on the auction block, it’s now sold for $14,438 as reported by TMZ Sports which also stated that the premium disposal of the buyer, which actually goes to the auction house, would also be donated to the war fund.
At the 2000 Games, Mezetsev participated in competitions like the floor exercise, pommel horse, and still gathers in the men’s all-around competition, helping Ukraine to a score of 230.306. The team of Mezentsev stands second behind China at the Games in the men’s all-around event.
Yet what gives contentment to the former gymnast after 22 years, Russia stands third. The country received total of 23 medals at the Sydney Games, including three golds, in men’s skeet shooting, and two in swimming — the women’s 200 and 400-meter individual medley.
Menzetsev reached out to Bobby Eaton, the chief operating officer at US-based RR Auction, for discussions about selling the silver medal to raise funds to help his country fight the war, who revealed that the gymnast plans to purchase bulletproof vests and guns with the revenue.
The medal is one of the featured items in RR Auction’s latest Olympic sale, which ran online and closed on July 21st. The lot is estimated to be worth more than $10k and includes photos of Mezentsev and his teammates donning their Olympic silvers.
“It was pretty heartbreaking,” Eaton told Around the Rings. “I would talk to him after bombings had happened and he was separated from his wife and son. They were in a different town.”
Eaton said Mezentsev lives in Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine and expect to eventually join the military. He also stated that while it was difficult to send the medal out of the country, with just one provider available amidst the war, it was eventually exported.
“He was disappointed with what the values are for medals for how hard he worked,” Eaton added, “but he understands that the market bears what it bears and to him a medal’s a medal.”
