“Heartbreak for Australian Rowing Icon: Medals Stolen”

Police have arrested and charged a man for the alleged theft of four Olympic medals belonging to Australian rower Drew Ginn, which the 49-year-old won at the Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London Olympics. The medals, three gold and one silver, are still missing.

The 47-year-old man, who was wanted in connection with a suspected robbery, was arrested last Wednesday in Brunswick, a northern suburb of Melbourne. Authorities believe Ginn’s medals were stolen from the back of a Land Rover parked in the Victorian capital on 6 September.

Also stolen were a GoPro camera, headphones and a wetsuit, which police said Ginn had left in his car with the medals during a school conference. The items included his gold medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Ginn is one of Australia’s most decorated Olympians and was a member of the championship rowing team known as ‘The Oarsome Foursome’. He won the medals during an Olympic career that spanned almost two decades, from the 1996 Atlanta Games to the 2012 London Olympics.

“They’re very valuable to family and friends… but they can’t be insured,” Ginn told ABC Radio Melbourne on Friday. “They were hidden in the car, but the car was completely ransacked and a lot of things were broken and destroyed,” he added.

“It must have been about five minutes. It’s one of those things you just don’t do,” Ginn told 9News. “Our main objective is to get those medals back for Drew,” said Victoria Police senior detective Edward Stevens.

The 49-year-old former athlete expressed hope that the medals would be returned to their rightful owner rather than being sold. “It’s a hunk of metal – they’re gold-plated. But for me it’s just a terrible feeling to think and imagine that the medals might not be in my family.

On representing his country on the biggest sporting stage, Ginn said: “I like the idea that these medals are medals for Australia. It’s not just you as an athlete representing your country – you’re representing every person.

“There may be a market for this sort of thing, but hopefully common sense will prevail. I know other medals have been returned in the past, so we’re hoping that will happen in this case,” Ginn said.

Police released a photograph of the medals and urged the public to be on the lookout for them if they turn up for sale in pawn shops or online platforms. “These are incredibly rare items with significant sentimental value,” Detective Sergeant Timothy Reiher of the Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit said.

The alleged thief has been charged with motor vehicle theft, obtaining property by deception, obtaining financial advantage by deception and handling stolen goods.