Former Hungarian fencer Laszlo Csongradi has been left so distraught by the theft of his Olympic gold medal that he has offered to leave it to the thief in his will if the medal is returned.
Csongradi, 65, won the Olympic gold in the men’s team sabre competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. His home was broken into and the medal was stolen Sept. 10 as Csongradi was sleeping.
“For two weeks, I can’t calm down and be happy, because everything reminds me of my stolen Olympic gold medal,” Csongradi told Hungary’s Sportal website.
“I would give everything to the culprit, but I want him to return the worthless object that means nothing to him. Drop it in the mailbox and if you want, I won’t leave it to a museum in my will, I’ll bequeath it to him.”
The medal was stored away in a cupboard, Csongradi said, adding that the burglar left the house only when the former fencer left his room and shouted at him.
“He could have taken other important things, but for some reason [the medal] was all he was interested in,” Csongradi said.
“The thief touched many things, many fingerprints were left behind, but there is nothing to identify them. I don’t know what to do to get the message across to him: I don’t want to hurt him. … You can negotiate with me.”
Reuters contributed to this report.