2 Feb 2026

Kiwi Olympian's gold medal stolen in home robbery

From Checkpoint, 4:24 pm on 2 February 2026

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 LA, rowing in the men's coxless four and he's appealing to whoever pinched it to give it back undamaged. O'Connell spoke to Lisa Owen.