Athletics Australia - News Release
19 June 2006 3.33pm Manchester 1500m bronze medallist and dual Australian Champion Youcef Abdi has had his three medals stolen from his home in Sydney’s Cronulla.
Abdi, who is in Paris presently racing on the European Tour, received a call from Sydney over the weekend informing him that thieves had broken into his Cronulla home and stolen a number of items including his medals.
"The medals don’t have a market value, they cannot sell them, but they do have an irreplaceable sentimental value that doesn’t belong to anybody but the athlete who won it", Abdi said today from the French Capital.
"I am pleading to this person to understand and send back the medals, I wouldn’t ask this if I they could sell them and get money for them but in this case they can’t sell those medals. Please I hope you have a heart to understand the value of the medals and send them back to the Cronulla Police".
Abdi, born in Algeria, moved to Australia in 1996 and has consistently represented his adopted country internationally. The medals have extra significance for him given that they were won at the national titles of his adopted homeland and whilst representing Australia.
Athletics Australia joins Youcef in calling for the return of the medals which can be left at any police station, or the offices of Athletics NSW at Wentworth Park Raceway in Ultimo.
