Reigning European 110m hurdles champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde has put up for auction the French national vest he wore at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Doha where he came away with the bronze medal.
Martinot-Lagarde’s vest is one of a vast number of items of sporting kit and memorabilia to be put up for auction by high-profile French athletes across all sports. The online auction was organised by French handball goalkeeper Cyril Demoulin and this #SPORTSAIDONS initiative has already raised 40,000 euros.
Martinot-Lagarde’s vest raised 1500 euros which will go towards supporting nurses at a local hospital amid the COVID-19 outbreak which has profoundly afflicted France.
Other French athletes have donated items to this initiative. Agnes Raharolahy’s French national team vest raised 250 euros at auction and her relay teammate Elea-Mariama Diarra’s vest added another 174 euros to the fund-raising efforts.
Items from footballers Didier Drogba and Dimitar Berbatov - both of whom have played for Ligue 1 teams - and well-known tennis players Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin have also been donated for auction.