A medal from one of the most awe-inspiring ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports stories of all time, earned at the 1904 ºüÀêÊÓƵ Olympics by a local man with a wooden leg, sold for a big price this week at auction.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ resident George Eyser, a one-legged gymnast with a wooden prosthetic leg, famously earned six medals in one day.
His gold medal for rope climbing, in which he reached the top of a 25-foot rope in seven seconds, in an auction that ended Thursday.
Columnist Benjamin Hochman recently told the story of Eyser, a German immigrant who lived in ºüÀêÊÓƵ at the time of the Olympics here.
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Eyser also won gold in the parallel bars and tied for gold in the horse vault. He won silver in the pommel horse and bronze in the horizontal bar. He earned a sixth medal, a silver for being among the top-three overall scorers.
Eyser was the only person with an artificial leg to compete at the Olympics prior to 2008.
The front of the solid gold medal reads "Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, MDCCCLXXXVIII" while the back is labeled "Rope Climbing."
The medal was attached to a red, white and blue ribbon, the top of which contains a golden-colored piece indicating the year and "ºüÀêÊÓƵ."
Eyser's gold fetched the auction among the 183 Olympics memorabilia items included in the event held by Boston-based RR Auction.
The medal was made by New York jeweler .
"George Eyser's story is one of the most inspiring tales in Olympic history," Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of RR Auction, said, according to a release. "This gold medal is not just a symbol of his athletic prowess but a testament to his incredible determination and resilience.â€
"Handling artifacts like Eyser's gold medal is a privilege," Livingston said. â€This sale underscores the timeless appeal and inspirational power of the Olympic spirit.â€
Eyser was a member of the Concordia Turnverein club. , roughly translated from German means "gymnastic society" and also called Turners.