A late flurry of bidding exploded the sales price of Ryan Lochte‘s three Olympic gold medals, selling for a combined $316,000, plus a buyer’s premium. The top bids were at $83,000 combined just 24 hours before the auction closed.
- 2004 Athens Olympics 800 free relay gold medal: Final Bid $66,000 ($88,520 with Buyer’s Premium) – Link
- 2008 Beijing Olympics 800 free relay gold medal: Final Bid $150,000 ($183,000 with Buyer’s Premium) – Link
- 2016 – Rio Olympics 800 free relay gold medal: Final Bid $100,000 ($122,000 with Buyer’s Premium) – Link
The 2008 medal likely carried a higher price because of its association with Michael Phelps‘ historic run to 8 medals, and because that relay set a World Record. 10 bids came for that medal in the last hour of the auction alone, and its price quintupled in just the last four hours of the bidding.
The 2016 gold medal is the one associated with the infamous gas station bathroom vandalism that set off a minor international incident.
This is not the first time that Lochte has auctioned off his medals, and he has repeatedly emphasized that he “never swam for the gold medals” as part of his decision to sell them.
What is an Olympic gold medal worth?
This adds another data point to what the value of an Olympic gold medal is on the auction market, one of many ways to value a medal.
Iconic diver Greg Louganis auctioned off two gold and a silver medal in 2025 for $430,865 after several attempts. Swimmer Anthony Ervin auctioned off his gold medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics for $17,101 to raise money for victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. He sold his medal on eBay in 2004. Since then, the market for Olympic memorabilia has skyrocketed.
Polish swimmer Otylia Jedrzejcak sold her 2004 Olympic gold medal in the 200 butterfly for $80,000 to benefit a Polish charity that helps children with leukemia. She declared even before those Games that any gold medals she won would be donated to charity.
Athletes from other sports have also been sold. Mark Wells, a member of the 1980 U.S. ‘Miracle on Ice’ team, sold his medal to a private collector who in turn sold it for $310,700 in 2010. Wells sold his medal to pay for medal treatments after a rare genetic disease damaged his spinal cord.
Another member of that team Mark Pavelich sold his medal for $262,900 at an auction in 2014, which he said was to give his daughter a “step forward in life.”
Famed Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko sold his 1996 Olympic boxing gold medal for a cool $1 million for the Klitschko Brothers Foundation, which helps pay for children’s sports camps and facilities.
The value of an Olympic gold medal on the auction block has historically been directly tied to the fame of the athlete or the fame of the story. Many ‘backup’ medals or medals of unknown provenance sell for much lower values when it is not known who won them, or they are never actually won.
Pulling for you Champ! Keep it in the road one day at a time. Remember people are cruel. Whatever the naysayers think or say cannot affect your positive trajectory unless you allow it. The broad spectrum of opportunities awaits a healthy and whole Ryan Lochte.
The medals are his, so he can certainly do with them as he wishes. However, it does have an appearance that strikes me as not fully respecting the GIVER of the medals (OOC) which probably didn’t have this in mind.
Mr. Lochte’s finances are his own, private business, but I can certainly speculate that 300K isn’t going to last too long in this day and age. Rio was, indeed, a long while ago, but his internationally loony antics will be with him, I fear, forever.
Respect the giver? They didn’t give it a gift out of the goodness of their heart. They designed the competition and listed the reward. He did the work and won the competition. No different than if they offered prize money instead.
Seriously?
They weren’t a GIFT.
I’m surprised the most recent medal wasn’t mentioned. Eugene Omalla of the Dutch track mixed 4 x 400 relay gold medal team from Paris 2024 auctioned off his medal for slightly above $70,000. I think that one will go up in value because of the very famous anchor leg by Femke Bol:
https://sports.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous-collectibles/general/2024-paris-summer-olympics-gold-medal-presented-to-netherlands-4x400m-mixed-relay-team-member-eugene-omalla/a/50077-82227.s
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2025/05/dutch-olympic-athlete-defends-decision-to-sell-gold-medal-online/
I have a stack of tin/cheap Medals from USMS, local open water swim races, and USA age group meets. I bet they wouldn’t come near the value of an Olympic medal.
What?! I’ve been banking my retirement on my youth trophies! I mean they are bigger than a medal so they have to have great value….
Is there any particular reason that he chose not to auction the 2012 gold? I think he has four 4×2 relay golds.
2012 was his best Olympics, he wants to keep all of those medals
Here’s hoping the money helps him (and importantly, his family/children), he keeps his sobriety and finds peace. No doubt, most of his troubles are by his own hand. But he’s a still human being and we should cheer for him.
💯
I can’t agree more!
I loved watching Lochte when I was growing up. I remember he was always giving away his medals. If I had the money, I would have bought them.
But:
a) He was giving them away then.
b) Do you love watching him now?
Do you have any empathy and good heart?
Yes.
I wish no ill-will.
But I’m tired of the “for the children” BS.
And EG is a crock.
Love watching him now?! He’s not a professional athlete representing his country now, so why would we watch him? Give the man his privacy! We are not voyeurs…well, I’m not.
I’m sure there is a strong market for foot pictures as well
I’m glad he sold medals over starting an OF