A ranked shirt auction for a first half marathon raised 265 euros
Aleksandar Jovanovic ran a leaderboard auction for 11 logo places on his shirt for the Sparkassen Phoenix Half Marathon in Dortmund on 3 October 2026. Bidding closed on 20 September with 7 sponsors and 265 euros raised.
- Athlete
- Aleksandar Jovanovic (@AleksDoesCode), Dortmund, Germany
- Sport
- Running, Half marathon (21.1 km)
- Event
- 13. Sparkassen-Phoenix-Halbmarathon, Phoenix-See, Dortmund, Germany
- Event date
- 3 Oct 2026
- Launched
- 30 Aug 2026
- Pricing
- Auction, from €1 per spot
- Spots sold
- 7 / 11
- Raised
- €265 (total shown on the campaign site, 24 Sep 2026)
- Sponsors
- HappySurance, WeinGold im Kaiserviertel, Grow Fast LTD., Lügen ohne Limit, GPT Watermark Remover, BookYourCook, Zulio UG
- X followers
- 1.1K (24 Sep 2026)
- Launch post views
- 154
- Status
- Closed
The campaign
Aleksandar Jovanovic, a developer in Dortmund, announced on 30 August 2026 that he was selling ad space on his body for his first half marathon, the Sparkassen Phoenix Half Marathon on 3 October. He pitched it to the build-in-public crowd on X, with bids starting at 1 euro. His post claimed the race would put logos in front of more than 100,000 people, which is his own estimate.
His site, 21km.lol, works as a ranked leaderboard rather than per-spot pricing. Sponsors add money to a running total, and the final ranking decides placement: the top sponsor gets the front of the shirt as title sponsor, ranks 2 to 11 go on the back in shrinking sizes, and anyone below 11th stays on the online list only. The rules include a minimum overtaking increment and an anti-sniping extension.
Most activity came in the first two days. Five different sponsors held the front position at some point, with most of the changes on 31 August, and HappySurance finished on top at 120 euros. The site records 8 bids from 7 sponsors and 265 euros in total. Four of the eleven shirt places, the smallest back spots, were never filled when bidding closed on 20 September.
The race takes place on 3 October 2026, so no result is available yet.
What was on sale
| Spot | Medium | Price | Status | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front, title sponsor (rank 1) | Print on race shirt | €120 bid | Sold | HappySurance |
| Back, premium left (rank 2) | Print on race shirt | €75 bid | Sold | WeinGold im Kaiserviertel |
| Back, premium right (rank 3) | Print on race shirt | €50 bid | Sold | Grow Fast LTD. |
| Back, medium left (rank 4) | Print on race shirt | €15 bid | Sold | Lügen ohne Limit |
| Back, medium centre (rank 5) | Print on race shirt | €2 bid | Sold | GPT Watermark Remover |
| Back, medium right (rank 6) | Print on race shirt | €2 bid | Sold | BookYourCook |
| Back, small A (rank 7) | Print on race shirt | €1 bid | Sold | Zulio UG |
| Back, small B (rank 8) | Print on race shirt | — | Available | |
| Back, small C (rank 9) | Print on race shirt | — | Available | |
| Back, small D (rank 10) | Print on race shirt | — | Available | |
| Back, small E (rank 11) | Print on race shirt | — | Available |
Takeaways for athletes
- A 1 euro minimum makes it easy to join, but three sponsors stayed at 1 or 2 euros; a higher floor may raise more per spot.
- Ranking by total contribution creates a visible race for the top position, which drove most of the bidding here.
- With a small audience, expect interest to cluster in the first days after launch and plan follow-up posts.
- Offer fewer shirt places if the audience is small, so the board looks full and each spot is worth more.
Sources
- Launch post on X accessed 24 Sep 2026
- Campaign website 21km.lol accessed 24 Sep 2026
- Campaign state API (slots, totals, close date) accessed 24 Sep 2026
- Campaign activity API accessed 24 Sep 2026
- Race listing on leichtathletik.de accessed 24 Sep 2026
Written by Sponsor My Body from the sources above and last checked on 24 Sep 2026. Figures are what the athlete or their campaign site showed on that date; a figure from the athlete’s own post is marked as such. Something wrong or out of date? Email hello@sponsormybody.com. Know another athlete campaign? Add it to the index.
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