The living legend of the long jump, New York's Bob Beamon, chose to put an economic value on the medal, which has great historical significance as it not only secured first place at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico but also broke the world and Olympic records.

Beamon's historic jump measured 8.90 metres (29 feet and 2 1/4 inches), beating the previous record by almost 55.88 centimetres (22 inches). This record stood for 23 years until it was surpassed by Mike Powell (8.95) and Carl Lewis (8.91) at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, but it remains the highest Olympic jump.

Beamon, who was born in South Jamaica, New York, on 29 August 1946 and claimed the gold medal at the age of 23, explained: "It's time for me to pass it on," ahead of the medal being auctioned by Christie's in New York on Thursday.

"The auction was an excellent way to showcase the medal, but also to preserve its memory," said Beamon, adding that he hoped it would find its way to someone who "understands the importance of sporting achievement."

Experts at Christie's, the world's leading art and luxury auction house renowned for its live and online auctions, estimate the medal's value at between $400,000 and $600,000. That's not surprising, considering that it was the biggest jump in history.

The former 1.91m (6'1'') athlete, who was also an accomplished basketball player (drafted by the NBA's Phoenix Suns, although he never made his debut in the world's premier basketball league), expressed: "The upcoming Paris Games offer many opportunities to display the gold in public exhibitions." 

As for the event that catapulted him to eternal glory, Beamon still remembers the "extraordinary day" of 18 October 1968, when he almost missed the Games after overrunning two of his qualifying jumps. 

"Everything was perfect for me. The wind was perfect. The weather was perfect when I jumped. It rained right after I jumped," recalls the athlete who needed only one Olympic appearance in his life to remain the undisputed Olympic record holder in his discipline after 56 years.

"I made a few mistakes in the preliminaries and wanted to make sure I got a fair, legal jump in the final. But to my surprise, it was not just a jump, it was an incredible moment in history," he said, a moment that was named by the prestigious Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the greatest sporting moments of the 20th century. 

It's worth noting that this true global legend and Hall of Famer also holds the record for the longest time an athlete has held an Olympic record without being beaten by another athlete. 

When the next Olympic Games begin in Paris on 26 July 2024, he will have held the most important Olympic record in history for 20,370 days, or 55 years, 9 months and 8 days.