'A great relief.' Friedman showing off his Olympic gold
צילום: רויטרס
Police retrieve Olympic champ’s medal
Last Tuesday burglars steal safe containing Gal Friedman’s gold medal; Friday night girl finds medal in grove near Arab village
Hadera District Police have located Saturday the Olympic gold medal that had been stolen last week from windsurfer Gal Friedman.
Last Tuesday burglars broke into the Karkur home of Gal Friedman's parents and stole a safe containing the gold medal he had won at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the first ever won by an Israeli Olympian.
Also stolen was Friedman's bronze medal from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, a gun and other family valuables.
Although a police investigation into the matter was launched, it was a girl from an Arab village near Hadera who happened to stumble upon the medal Friday night as she was strolling in one of the area’s groves.
The girl’s father notified the police, who then scoured the area and found the stolen safe, which still contained a few documents and some cash. Friedman’s Bronze medal from the Atlanta Olympic Games was not found.
“This is a great relief,” Friedman said, adding that from now on he will not store the medal in a safe but on a wall in his house.
Police officials said no suspects in the case have been arrested as of yet.
