6-year-old finds stolen Olympic medal along road
ATLANTA — One Olympians' most prized possession was finally returned home. Part of it anyway.
Atlanta resident Joe Jacobi participated in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, ultimately winning gold in the canoe slalom event. His medal was stolen in early June after someone broke into his car. The thieves took a backpack which contained Jacobi's laptop and the medal itself. The Barcelona gold medal has a five color ribbon attached to it. Jacobi was able to snap a photo of the suspects as they got away.
Now, however, it seems as though at least part of the medal was returned.
A local family found the medal while walking one day. The 6-year-old daughter picked up the golden medallion part of the medal. Thinking it to be trash, the father told her to throw it back onto the ground. She did as she was told but the way it floated to the ground in a Frisbee-like fashion made the father think it wasn't trash at all. The father turned out to be a sports collector and recognized the medal as an Olympic piece. They found Jacobi through his stolen medal website and returned it to its rightful owner.
As mentioned previously, only part of the medal was returned. Jacobi is sill missing the silver metallic base on which the medal sits and the ribbon attached. He's hopeful that it will be found one day.