Great Britain sprinter James Dasaolu is hoping to raise £25,000 for treatment of an achilles injury, said to require “urgent surgery”.
A fundraising page set up on behalf of the two-time Olympian – who hasn’t competed in over a year – has raised more than £9,000 at the time of writing.
The 31-year-old former European champion has not been picked by UK Athletics for its funding programme in the last three seasons.
Only British record holder Linford Christie has ever run faster over 100m than Dasaolu’s 9.91s mark, set in 2013.
James Dasaolu’s stock rose significantly five years ago. He began 2013 by winning silver at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg over 60m, setting a lifetime best of 6.48s and finishing just behind Jimmy Vicaut of France in the process.
It was at the British Championships that year where he ran the 9.91 clocking, which stands second on the nation’s all-time list, and has since been equalled by Zharnel Hughes.
A year later, the man from London held off another French rival – Christophe Lemaitre rather than Vicaut – to win European gold in Zurich.
The gofundme page says the surgery will cost £9,000 and that the further money is an estimate of how much would be needed for his rehabilitation in order to get him back to top flight athletics.
Dasaolu is hoping to be able to contend for a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
In a tweet, he said he was “touched” by donations and messages received so far, adding “it’s because of all your support, I can start my journey to recovery.”
It’s not the first time an athlete has gone online in search of funds. James Ellington put himself up for auction on ebay in a bid to make the 2012 Olympics.
