One former Olympic champion is being forced to sell his medal.
Nijel Amos, the silver medalist in arguably the greatest race in history, is looking into selling that medal, the first medal in Botswana’s Olympic history, after recently receiving a three-year doping ban.
“It has been a financially draining process,” Amos said in a statement of the doping case, which began with a positive drug test last June.
He revealed he incurred around $67,000 in legal and travel fees associated with the case.
“Given the circumstances surrounding the case, my legal team and I saw it fit to take that direction so that I get a reduction on my ban,” Amos said.
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The drug found in the 29-year-old’s system, GW1516, modifies how the body metabolises fat, and the World Anti-Doping Agency has said it poses a health risk to athletes.
Amos will be in touch with stakeholders and financial advisors before making a final decision. Amos said Tuesday that he met with a team that wants to buy the medal with a value of around $340,000, but that he has a Netflix documentary coming out that could increase the medal’s value, according to the BBC.
“At this time, my only investment or pension is the famous 2012 Olympic silver medal,” Amos said on Tuesday. “I am in touch with different stakeholders, including financial advisors, on how that can sustain me and my family. I met with a team that wants to buy it with a value of 4.5m Botswana pulas ($339,750), but with my documentary coming out on Netflix it could change the value to 7.5 million.”
Back in 2012, Amos took silver in the Olympic 800m won by Kenyan David Rudisha in a world record time that still stands. The then 18-year-old matched 1980s British star Seb Coe as the third-fastest man in history in the event (1:41.73).
Amos has not won an Olympic or world championships medal since 2012.
