IRISH OLYMPIAN ARTHUR Lanigan-O’Keeffe described himself as “devastated” today, after his fencing gear was stolen in Ballsbridge, Dublin, just weeks before the athlete is due to compete at the World Cup in China.
Lanigan-O’Keeffe took to Twitter to spread the news following the incident’s occurrence, saying: “Everyone please help me get my Fencing and olympic gear that was stollen [sic] back. it means so much to me,thank you so much#helparthur.”
Speaking to TheScore.ie, he said that the gear was worth “thousands of euro,” and that he had “spent hours making them individualised”.
He described how the criminals broke into his car either early this morning or late last night and took money, along with a bag which contained all his fencing equipment.
Lanigan-O’Keeffe explained that those who took it would be unable to sell the equipment, given that his name is on it, and suggested they probably stole the bag not knowing what was in it.
The fencer, who competed for Ireland in the 2012 London Olympics, is not covered by insurance in this case, and now said he’d likely have to borrow gear for the upcoming World Cup 3 competition in China, which begins on April 17.
The bad news comes just weeks after Lanigan-O’Keeffe finished 16th in the modern pentathlon World Cup 1 competition in Palm Springs, California.
