Muggers outran Olympic champ

An Olympic gold medallist could not catch up with a gang of teenage robbers after they made off with her cash-stuffed purse.

Romanian Doina Melinte, who still holds the European record for the 1,500 metres, was attacked at a petrol station just outside Bucharest.

Three teenagers took her purse which had £17,000 pounds in it she was carrying to make a down payment on some land.

Melinte, who won gold in the 800 metres and silver in the 1,500 metres at the 1984 Olympics, gave chase but lost the trio after about half a mile.

The 49-year-old said: "I ran after them for about half a mile but could not catch them and I lost them at some point."

Police say they have identified the robbers and are trying to track them down.


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poor lady i wonder if her gold medal could be used as a down payment

Wonder if they knew her purse was full of cash beforehand......

The Romanians have never heard of Banker drafts, cheques, Mastercard or Visa.
Who would carry £17000 in cash ? how stupid can you get.

Nice insurance scam.

u can't insure cash my friend...so insurance scam is out of the picture.

Wow....that is the greatest thing I've ever heard.

Well she is 49 now and although probably quite fit, when it comes to chasing teenagers who have done something wrong its never easy to catch them.
I want to know what she would have done if she had caught up with them though. It was a gang of teenagers and not just one or two, if they decided to attack her she would have had no chance.

I agree with Aztec. At 49 years old, she ain't what she use to be. I hope that they catch who ever done this, and she can get her money back.

and for a 1500m runner, she's endurance, not sprinting, so she's got another excuse lol. it's sad though, i do feel for her.