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Former 1970s Soviet Gymnast Sells Her Medals In Arizona

Forty five years ago, Olga Korbut was a daring 17-year-old Olympian who created gymnastic moves that had never been attempted.

Now the Soviet gymnast has just sold five of her Olympic medals at auction in Arizona.

Korbut sold those medals for more than $200,000. They included the gold medals she won at the Munich Olympics in 1972, where her performance caused the audience to whistle at judges for not giving her a perfect 10.

President Richard Nixon later invited her to the White House. Nixon said she'd done more to reduce Cold War tensions than the Soviet and U.S embassies had done in five years.

Korbut now lives in the Valley.

Senior field correspondent Bridget Dowd has a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.