LONDON, (Reuters) – Usain Bolt will have an extra souvenir to go with his three gold medals after Olympic officials handed over the baton used by the Jamaican sprint relay team in their world record run.
Bolt had tried to keep the baton after running the anchor leg as Jamaica stormed to victory in the 4×100 metres relay on Saturday but was forced to surrender it by an official on the track.
The incident prompted booing from the 80,000 crowd who were saluting 100 and 200 champion Bolt’s triple triumph – matching his medal haul from Beijing four years ago.
Organisers eventually relented after the race.
“The Jamaican team asked to keep the baton and it was given to them to take home,” said a spokeswoman for London 2012.
Organisers have been auctioning off prized items used in the Games to help contribute to the cost of staging them.
A baton used in the semi-final of the sprint relay by one of the medal-winning teams has attracted a bid of 1,895 pounds ($3,000). ($1 = 0.6373 British pounds)
