An Olympic gold medal won by a New Zealand rowing legend has been stolen during a burglary at his Christchurch home.

Former world champion Leslie “Les” O’Connell said he was “gutted” by the theft, and appealed directly to those responsible not to destroy the medal.

Remarkably, it’s not the first time a member of the winning coxless four team has had their gold medal stolen.

In 2006, thieves broke into Shane O’Brien’s Sandringham home and took his gold medal, as well as the bronze and silver medals from the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, among other items.

O’Connell, 67, said he and his wife were away in Napier for a wedding when the break-in occurred, leaving their home unattended from Friday.

They were alerted on Sunday morning that the garage door and front door had been forced open, a vehicle stolen and the house ransacked.

“My son went in and noticed the gold medal was gone as well,” O’Connell said.

“They’ve rifled through the whole house. Apart from that, I don’t yet know what else has gone.”

O’Connell said police asked that no one enter the house until fingerprinting and forensic work is completed.

While vehicles and tools were taken, he said the stolen Olympic gold medal was irreplaceable.

“Everything’s covered by insurance other than this gold medal,” he said.

“It has more sentimental value than monetary value. I just don’t want them to deface it or try to melt it down.”

O’Connell won the medal as part of New Zealand’s men’s coxless four at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games following consecutive world championship titles.

“I won’t be winning another Olympic gold medal. It’s a one-in-a-lifetime achievement,” he said.

He said he feared the medal could be destroyed or discarded if the offenders decided it was too difficult to sell.

“I don’t want them to throw it in the ocean or destroy it. If they don’t know what to do with it, just hide it somewhere and leave it there. Don’t destroy it.”

Unlike his world championship medals, which were displayed on a wall, the Olympic medal had been hidden behind books on a shelf.

“They never touched the others. They obviously knew where to look.”

Anyone with information about the stolen medal is urged to contact police.

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.