for A$400,000
Reuters
18 April 2001 - Former Australian athlete Shirley Strickland, a triple Olympic gold medallist, sold her honors at auction on Wednesday for 200,000 US$ to help pay for the education of her 11 grandchildren.
Strickland, 75, now Shirley de la Hunty, parted with a 121-item collection, including seven Olympic medals.
She won gold in the 80-metre hurdles at Helsinki in 1952 and in Melbourne in 1956, where she also won gold in the 4x100m relay.
The collection also included her 1957 Member of the British Empire (MBE) and nine world record plaques.
Charles Leski Auctions spokesman Michael Krape told Reuters the buyer was a telephone bidder from within Australia. "Yes he is an Australian. He might make a public statement in the next few days," Krape said.
"He has said he intends to keep the collection in one group and in Australia."
De la Hunty was not immediately available for comment after the auction in Melbourne but Krape said she was happy the collection had been sold for the amount she expected and that it would stay in Australia.
Along with her grandchildren's education, she said she would like to see some of the proceeds of the sale go to environmental causes.
In announcing the sale in February, de la Hunty said she expected criticism for the move. "It's not an easy thing for me to do," she said. "It's confronting and emotional, but it's something that had to happen. I want this off my back. I suppose you could say I'm preparing for death in a way."
Apart from her three Olympic gold medals, Strickland also won bronze in the 100m at the 1952 Games. Four years earlier at the 1948 London Games she won silver in the 4x100m relay and bronze in each of the 80m hurdles and 100m.
De la Hunty, who is still coaching, was part of the "Magnificent Seven" torch relay at the opening of last year's Sydney Games.
The seven also included Australian Olympic heroines Dawn Fraser, Betty Cuthbert, Debbie Flintoff-King, Raelene Boyle, Shane Gould and Cathy Freeman, who lit the Olympic cauldron.