By Hannah Kennelly and Cassandra Morgan
Police are still hunting for four Olympic medals belonging to former Oarsome Foursome rowing team member Drew Ginn, despite charging a man on Wednesday over the alleged theft of the medals from Ginn’s car in Melbourne last week.
The rowing champion said he had a sense of dread that his medals might never be returned.
The Olympic champion’s medals – three gold and one silver – were allegedly stolen at 5am on Friday after he left them in his car in Cumberland Street, Docklands.
Drew Ginn (left, with James Tomkins) rows in Athens towards a fourth Olympic gold medal.Credit: David Guttenfelder
Police arrested and charged a 47-year-old Windsor man in Brunswick on Wednesday afternoon in relation to the case. The man was charged with theft from a motor vehicle, obtaining property by deception, obtaining financial advantage by deception and handling stolen goods.
“Neither the Olympic medals nor any of the other allegedly stolen property have been recovered at this time,” police said in a statement.
Investigators say a Rip Curl wetsuit, a Go Pro camera and Sony headphones were also stolen from the vehicle. The man is to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on November 29.
Ginn, who was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2018, said he was devastated by the theft.
“It dawned on me that I’d been at a school event maybe 10 days before ... and then all of a sudden, it was like ‘oh no’ and your heart sinks,” he said. “It’s stuff that just can’t be replaced.
“Twenty-eight odd years of our life via the symbolism of those medals are gone. But for me, it’s the ability to hand those things on to your family.”
Detective Sergeant Timothy Reiher said the medals were priceless to those who had won them.
“These are unbelievably rare items with significant sentimental value,” the detective said. “We ask that people look out for these medals in pawn shops and online selling platforms.”
Ginn, who has ruled out offering a reward for the medals’ return, said he hoped someone might hand them back but he felt a sense of dread and had accepted the fact they might never be returned.
“This is about people being respectful of other peoples’ time and energy and everything they’ve put into something,” he said. “The outcome I would like is just for them to be returned. It’s a good message for people to just do something decent.”
Ginn won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games as a member of the Oarsome Foursome, alongside Mike McKay, James Tomkins and Nick Green.
He also won gold at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games in the coxless pair before returning to claim silver in the fours at London in 2012.
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