The final prize was more than double the auction house estimate.

"Any winner's medal from the historic debut of the 1896 Olympic Games remains exceedingly rare," RR Auctions executive vice president Bobby Livingston said.

"This example represents just the third that we have ever offered, and the premiere instance of a first-place medal, which are among the most sought-after accolades in the realm of sport."

The medal was described by RR auctions of Boston Massachusetts as "the elusive first place medal from the debut of the modern Olympics - the first we have ever offered."

At the first Olympics of the Modern era, the winners received a silver medal and bronze was given to those in second place.

Although the third place is recorded in modern record books, no medal was awarded at the time.

This example weighed 67 grams and was 50 millimetres in diameter.

The front depicts a relief portrait of Zeus holding Nike, the goddess of Victory, in the palm of his hand, with text along left side, “Olympia”.

The reverse bears a detailed view of the Acropolis of Athens topped by the Parthenon.

A gold medal from the more recent Beijing 2008 Games fetched $97,270 (£70,749/€82,633).

It had belonged to an unnamed member of Argentina’s men’s football team, which, inspired by Lionel Messi, won a second successive gold medal with victory over Nigeria in the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

 A gold medal awarded to a United States basketball player at Los Angeles 1984 went for $97,270 (£70,749/€82,633).

A similar medal for the 1932 Los Angeles Games won by Swedish wrestler Ivar Johansson sold for $45,375 (£33,003/€38,547).

The rare appearance of a 1948 Torch prompted a buyer to pay $37,816 for a medal that collectors consider to be a scarcity.

Olympic Torches from the 1964 and 2020 Games in Tokyo have between them fetched over $27,000 (£19,638/€22,937).

A Tokyo 2020 Torch, carried in the Greek portion of the Relay from Olympia before the Relay was abruptly cancelled, commanded a price of $18,529 (£13,477/€15,740).

The auction ran for a week from July 15.

Lots included medals, torches, pennants, pins and rare copies of official reports.