CELEBRITY
IOC SCAMMED OVER MUHAMMAD ALI’S OLYMPIC TORCH
BY NEIL SHEFFERD
A Torch donated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said to be used by Muhammad Ali to light the Olympic Cauldron at Atlanta 1996, may not be the original version.
The Torch was donated to the IOC by former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone after he acquired it at an auction believing it was the original, as reported by NYSportsJournalism.
Its authenticity is being disputed as the Muhammad Ali Museum, based in Kentucky in the United States, claims that it houses the original as part of its collection.
“The Ali Center still has on display the torch that Muhammad carried at the Atlanta Olympic Games,” said its senior director of public relations and external affairs Jeanie Kahnke.
“It was donated to the centre by the Muhammad Ali family.
“We have the assurance from the family that this Torch is the original.”
Ecclestone claimed that when he bid for the Torch at auction he believed it was the original version, and that he donated it to the IOC in good faith.
“I understood that this was the final Torch of the Relay for the Atlanta Games, which was used by Muhammad Ali to light the cauldron,” said Ecclestone.
“There was even some media coverage around the auctioning of the final Atlanta 1996 Torch.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this torch could be displayed in The Olympic Museum?’ and I decided to enter the auction.
“Eventually, I won the bid and donated the Torch to the IOC in good faith.”
An IOC spokesperson said: “Mr Ecclestone clearly acted in good faith to make a very generous donation to the IOC.
“All of us thought this was the final Torch signed by Muhammad Ali.”
Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion Ali, who died aged 74 in 2016, had a strong connection with the Olympic Games, claiming the gold medal in the lightweight division at Rome 1960.
Ali suffered from Parkinson’s disease since 1984, three years after his retirement from boxing.
He continued to make public appearances, despite his illness, and lit the Olympic Cauldron at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, in what proved to be one of the Games’ most iconic moments.
-insidethegames
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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