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A man has been charged after four Olympic medals – including three gold – belonging to one of the members of Australia’s popular “Oarsome Foursome” rowing team were allegedly stolen from a car in Melbourne.
Victoria police said Drew Ginn’s medals from four consecutive Olympics were in the back of a Land Rover that was parked on Cumberland Street in Docklands when they were allegedly stolen last week.
Police arrested 47-year-old Windsor man Luke Tones in Brunswick on Wednesday afternoon, following a public appeal.
Tones has been charged with theft from motor vehicle, obtain property by deception, obtain financial advantage by deception and handle stolen goods.
He will face the Melbourne magistrates court on 29 November.
“Neither the Olympic medals or any of the other allegedly stolen property have been recovered at this time,” police said in a statement.
Ginn said he had hidden the medals in a secure spot in his car, which was parked on Cumberland Street, after he had shown them at a school event more than a week earlier.
“It must have been about five minutes, it dawned on me that I’d have been at a school event maybe 10 days before … and then all of a sudden, I was like, ‘Oh no’,” Ginn told reporters earlier on Wednesday.
“Your heart sinks.”
A wetsuit, a Go Pro camera and headphones were also allegedly stolen, but the rower said it was hard to put a dollar value on the medals.
“It’s a hunk of metal – they’re gold plated,” he said.
“That’s the reality.
“But for me, it’s just it’s a horrible feeling to sort of think and imagine that medal won’t potentially be in my family.”
The Oarsome Foursome was a series of Australian rowing Coxless Four crews, with Ginn taking part in latter combinations which won gold at the Atlanta 1996 Games and silver at London 2012.
Ginn also won gold medals in pair events at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
The Olympian has shown his medals to more than 150 schools in the past two decades and hoped he would be able to do so again.
“I like the idea that these medals are medals for Australia,” Ginn said.
“It’s not just you as an athlete representing your country – you’re representing every single person.”