#Amos offered P4.5 million for Olympic Silver Pledges to sell to the highest bidder
The country’s most famous piece of sporting memorabilia, Nigel Amos’ 2012 Olympic Silver medal, could soon be lost to Botswana forever.
A foreigner has reportedly offered the 27-year-old athlete a whopping P4.5 million in exchange for his historic medal – and the Marobela marvel is keen to cash in!
Currently in the care of the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC), Amos recently wrote to the organisation, demanding they return the medal he won in London so he can sell it.
The 800m runner, presently in camp with Team Botswana as the nation builds towards the Tokyo Olympics in August, plans to use the bulk of the proceeds to give back to the sport that made him.
Amos, who is based in America but returned to the warmth of his homeland in November to escape the frosty US winter, told Voice Sport he has made up his mind to sell.
“I cannot let other athletes suffer when I have an asset that I can sell and make a difference in their lives. I don’t see the point of keeping a medal worth millions while we are suffering,” explained the four-time African champion.
An unimpressed Amos was especially scathing of the way his fellow athletes are treated despite being Botswana’s most successful sporting code.
“We have achieved a lot for this country yet we are not appreciated. Athletics is not taken seriously here. The situation at the camp is very disheartening. Athletes earn P50 per day and in a month they get about P1, 500 which is too little. Some of us are breadwinners so we end up doing side hustles to make ends meet hence shifting our focus!” he said, highlighting the fact that Athletics did not receive a Covid-19 relief fund while other less successful sports did as an example.
Although he admits he would rather sell to a Motswana, Amos stressed that will not stop him from going international.
“If Botswana do not buy it, I will sell it to this person who offered P4.5 million,” he said simply, refusing to go into details on the prospective buyer for fear of jeopardizing the deal.
When asked if he was selling his Silver because he was broke, Amos laughed off the suggestion with typical grace.
As well as his various sponsorship deals, the silver bullet receives P8, 300 a month from government for qualifying for this year’s Olympics, as well as P6, 500 from Olympic Solidarity every month since 2017 and a monthly P1, 500 as camping allowance.
Meanwhile, Botswana National Sports Commission (BNOC) caretaker CEO, Tuelo Serufho confirmed discussions were ongoing, adding they hope ‘to conclude’ the matter soon.
Serufho said it would be ‘an unfortunate development’ if the medal was sold considering its unique sentimental value to both Amos and the nation at large.
“It will be embarrassing both for the nation and the athlete. We received a letter and he says he has achieved a lot for the nation and we are not supportive enough. We are trying to find a way of managing it and hopefully he will cooperate and we reach a conclusion,” stated Serufho.
In what is widely regarded as one of the greatest races of all time, on 9 August 2012, before a packed London Olympic Stadium, an 18-year-old Amos finished runner-up in the men’s 800m final.
He was second only to the great David Rudisha, with the Kenyan running a World Record time to beat Amos.
Nine years on and the silver sensation’s 1.41.73 remains a national record and the third fastest 800m run of all time.
The Silver medal remains Botswana’s only Olympic success to date.
