Olympic hopeful who put himself up for auction secures sponsorship deal

AN Olympic hopeful who appealed for sponsorship via internet site eBay has finally secured a deal.

British sprinter James Ellington put himself up on the popular auction site after he missed out on fundraising opportunities due to injury.

The 100m and 200m athlete went up for auction in December with a reserve of £30,000 and attracted a bid of £32,500, but that turned out to be a hoax.

Ellington said he would wear the kit of the sponsor in the lead up to London and the south Londoner has now secured a deal with Will King, the founder of global brand, King of Shaves.

Ellington, 26, said: “Will King from King of Shaves has saved the day, he contacted me when the campaign first went out and said if anything falls through I should contact him.

“He’s taken the reins and has helped me out by managing to fund my training for the Olympics.

“King of Shaves basically bid what I was asking for and what I need.”

Ellington has become an established member of Britain’s sprint squad over the past three years and he won gold in the European Team Championships in 2011 and boasts a personal best of 20.53 seconds over 200 metres.

“Being sponsored means I can give up work whilst preparing for the Olympics and concentrate 100 per cent on my training.

“Now I won’t have to leave training sessions early to go and coach. It will cover expenses and nutrition, it’s perfect really.”

King also backed Kristan Bromley and Shelley Rudman in the 2006 Winter Olympics and said: “Before Christmas a fan of King of Shaves tweeted me that James Ellington was looking for sponsorship, and if things didn’t work out for him, I should get in touch.

“I went to eBay and I think he had raised £250, and the next day he had raised more, and then he had raised the money he needed.

“When things didn’t work out I was delighted to support James, he needs to be focusing on running and not raising money.”