Leap of the century: Bob Beamon's gold medal sold for $441,000 at auction

Bob Beamon est entré dans l'histoire de l'athlétisme en 1968. MAXPPP – Keystone Pictures USA

Le saut historique aux JO de Mexico-1968 avait atteint 8,90 mètres, un record mondial jusqu'aux championnats du monde de Tokyo en 1991.

The Olympic long jump record gold medal won by American Bob Beamon at the 1968 Games was sold Thursday in New York for $441,000.

"It's time for me to pass it on", the 77-year-old former athlete told AFP, before the auction by Christie& ;#39;s. The historic jump at the 1968 Mexico Olympics reached 8.90 meters, a world record until the Tokyo World Championships in 1991. In a booming sports memorabilia market, the experts at Christie's ;s had valued this medal between 400,000 and 600,000 dollars.

"Preserve memory"

"The auction was an excellent way to display the medal, but also to preserve its memory,” said Bob Beamon, saying he hoped that it goes to a buyer who "understands the importance of the athletic feat".

The auction house refused to reveal the name of the buyer. Bob Beamon said he remembers this "extraordinary day" of October 18, 1968. "That day, everything was perfect for me. The wind was perfect. The weather was perfect when I jumped, he recalled. "It rained right afterward".

"But to my surprise, it's not just a jump, it's an extraordinary moment in history".