Former rower Les O’Connell’s Olympic gold medal stolen in home burglary
Les O’Connell, Shane O’Brien, Conrad Robertson and Keith Trask celebrate winning gold at the 1984 Olympics.
Photo: Photosport
A former Olympic rower is hoping there is some honour among thieves after his gold medal was stolen from his Christchurch home while he was away for the weekend.
Les O’Connell won the medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, rowing in the men’s coxless four, and was appealing to whoever pinched it to give it back undamaged.
He said the medal was gold coated but was largely made of silver.
O’Connell’s home was robbed over the weekend, with thieves stealing a vehicle full of work tools, as well as entering the house and rifling through his belongings.
He was yet to return home after the robbery and did not yet know the extent of what had been stolen
However, he told Checkpoint that no loss was stinging harder than the medal.
“All those other items, that’s what they are, they’re just pure items that can be replaced, this can’t.”
“All of that pale’s comparison to the gold medal.”
O’Connell said the years of work he put in prior to getting the medal was part of what had made the loss hit even harder.
“It’s something I’m not going to win again and it’s a whole process. You know, I was a world champion for two years before the Olympics, so it was a whole build-up to winning a gold medal… it was hard fought.”
Despite having championship medals displayed in his home, it was only the Olympic medal that had been hidden that was stolen.
“I had those in frame, I had this one hidden purely because I didn’t want it hanging on the wall and I didn’t want it stolen. So we hid it behind some books on a bookcase.
“I’ve been told that all the drawers have been opened and that sort of thing. So, yeah, they’ve had a good look around.”
O’Connell said he doesn’t believe the thieves knew what they had found initially and is now worried they might think the medal is worth more than it actually is.
“As time goes on, they’ll probably look at them and think, well, you know, what do we do with this?
“What scares me the most is that they might go and do something stupid like try and melt it down or disfigure it or something like that, which really destroys the whole thing.
“I don’t know what the monetary value is, it never had a value, but it’s more of a collector’s item.”
O’Connell was holding out hope that the thieves would see some sense and return the medal back to its home.
“If they could put it somewhere and let someone know or phone into something and say, it’s here. Even if they just hide it somewhere and later on they let someone know… even post it back somewhere.
“I just don’t want it disfigured or thrown away and lost forever.”
Police said they received a report of a burglary at a Hartley Ave address, which occurred sometime between midnight and 8.30am on Monday. They said a number of items were reported stolen.
A forensic examination will be carried out, and the investigation is still ongoing.
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