Olympic champion sells gold medal due to large debts

Renowned Czech athlete Robert Změlík is selling his gold medal from the 1992 Olympic Games.

The Czech legend announced that he would sell the gold medal won in the decathlon discipline at the Barcelona Olympics. The reason for the former athlete's decision is his overwhelming debts.
The debts of the 54-year-old Olympic champion have reached 1.7 billion Czech crowns (or 67 million euros).

During his sports career, Změlík ventured into business. His company, Starlife, sold food supplements based on traditional Chinese medicine. Two years ago, it went bankrupt. Změlík deducts 800 euros monthly from his salary to repay debts.

In addition to the gold from Barcelona 1992, Změlík will also sell gold from the 1997 World Indoor Championships in heptathlon and the 1992 European Indoor Championships.

The Czech athlete claims that he cannot have such large debts.

"Creating obligations of 1.7 billion Czech crowns for a company with an annual turnover of 250 to 400 million is impossible," Změlík defends himself.

According to him, some obligations were recalculated several times by the trustee in bankruptcy.

"It creates the impression that I am an incompetent trader who created such losses. It will take some time before I can document everything, and it will be a sensation of how the bankruptcy mafia works here," claims the Olympic champion.