The president of the Estonian Olympic Committee, Neinar Seli, says he will reach into his own pockets in an effort to bring back to Estonia Erika Salumäe's Olympic gold medals, up for auction in London on Monday.
Seli has also garnered financial support from private sponsors who remain anonymous at the moment. "The agreement is that I will buy them myself. We and our sponsors will decide what to do with them later. First we need to obtain them," Seli told uudised.err.ee.
The wrongs and rights of selling an Olympic medal have been the talk of the town since the announcement of Salumäe's decision was made on October 18. The cyclist, who currently lives in Spain, won golds in both Seoul and Barcelona. She is also putting up for auction a long list of trophies, mementos and equipment such as her bicycle - all of which has thus far been on display at the Estonian Museum of Sport.
The Olympic Committee has expressed an interest in bringing the medals back, saying that the emotion of the Olympic win belongs to the Estonian people as well. But the committee itself does not have the necessary funds, according to Seli.
The items can be viewed in detail at the Graham Budd Auctions website.
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