A ROWER from Leander Club has had his London 2012 Olympic bronze medal stolen.

Alex Partridge had been out celebrating at a bar in Mayfair after a Buckingham Palace reception with the Queen on Tuesday.

His medal, which he won in the eight, was inside his Team GB blazer when it was taken. The jacket also contained pin badges from previous Games.

Partridge, 31, used Twitter to make an appeal for their safe return and talked about his loss to the audience at a charity dinner at Phyllis Court Club in Henley on Wednesday.

He also posted a CCTV photo of a man at the scene.

Partridge said: “I thought that maybe one of the other members of the team had picked up the blazer by accident but I have seen the CCTV and I can see what’s happening.

“I always say to people it’s not about the medal, it’s about the journey but I guess you don’t appreciate the value of it until it’s not there “It was only when I picked up my 16-month-old daughter from nursery it really dawned on me. If it doesn’t come back she won’t see everything I worked for, which was a representation of being in the best British Olympic team and possibly the best Olympics ever.”

The US-born oarsman, who also won silver at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, added: “It is very upsetting. It would mean everything to me to get them back.”

Hockey player Hannah McLeod, from Boston, was on the same night out and had her bronze medal stolen.

She was a member of the women’s team that beat New Zealand in London. McLeod tweeted: “My medal was stolen at the same time. Totally devastated.”

Olympic and Paralympic stars had earlier been invited to the palace to mark their achievements and meet the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Duchess of Cambridge, Prime Minister David Cameron and London 2012 chief Lord Coe. Scotland Yard confirmed it was investigating reports of a stolen Olympic medal and blazer.

However, the force had not yet been contacted about a second stolen medal, said a Met spokesman.

Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Published 25/10/12