(L-R) Haleigh Washington and Jordyn Poulter pose with their gold medals.Photo: YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty
It’s not every day you find an Olympic gold medal in the trash.
But that’s what happened to Maria Carrillo, an accountant from Anaheim, Calif., who last week picked up what she thought was just an empty McDonald’s bag just outside her office,according toThe Washington Post.
Carrillo, 50, realized the bag felt heavy, however, so she looked inside and found a gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics amid hamburger and french fry wrappers.
“My first thought was, ‘This is so beautiful — is it for real?’ " she told the outlet about the June 27 discovery.
Carrillo immediately called her husband, Noe Hernandez, 49, who alerted police.
Before it was stolen, the starting setter of the 2020 U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team had been enjoying showing friends her medal.
“People are curious about it and like to touch it and see how heavy it is,” Poulter told thePost. “It was my way of sharing the medal with anyone who feels connected to sports orTeam USA.”
The medal also is linked to Team USA Olympic history — it is the first gold medal the women have ever won in the sport.
Poulter said she “felt instant regret” the minute she realized it had been stolen, along with a few other, less notable items.
Carrillo told the newspaper she had no intent of keeping the medal, but she did pose for a few selfies before turning it in to police.
“We celebrate the good deed that this couple did in coming forward,” Sgt. Shane Carringer, spokesperson for the Anaheim Police Department, told the newspaper. “An Olympic medal would be extremely hard to sell, and it’s really of the most value to the person who won it.”
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For Poulter, the “priceless” medal has sentimental value, even if the gold-plated version from the Tokyo Olympics features environmentally friendly recycled metal inside.
According toCoinweek, the gold medal is worth about $812, but Poulter says she’s prepared to give Carrillo and Hernandez $1,000 as a reward.
source: people.com
