Olympic singlet sells beyond estimation in New Zealand

A singlet worn by New Zealand middle-distance runner Peter Snell at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games has been sold at an auction in Auckland for 122,500 NZ dollars (87,000 U.S. dollars) Tuesday.

Snell won the gold medal and set a New Zealand national record for 800 meters race at the Rome Olympic Games in 1960. Four years later, he won the gold medal and set a new Olympic record in the 800 meters race again, and won the gold medal in the 1,500 meters race. He was voted New Zealand Sports Champion of the 20th Century in 2000.

The black singlet went under the hammer has Snell's number 466 below an embroidered New Zealand and the Silver Fern design.

According to the auctioneer, the singlet has been estimated between 30,000 NZ dollars (21,000 U.S. dollars) and 50,000 NZ dollars (35,000 U.S. dollars). A phone bidder among a group of competitors, including overseas bidders, won the auction.

None of the prospective buyers appeared to want to take it abroad, said the action house, as the buyer would likely need a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage to take the singlet out of New Zealand.

The 77-year-old former athlete, who is living in the United States, told Radio New Zealand that he did not remember giving it away but probably had done for a charity event many years ago.

He hoped the singlet would eventually end up in the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in the South Island city Dunedin, where his Olympic medal would be donated. Endit