Drunk Polish hammer champion ‘uses gold medal to pay for taxi’

Beijing: World champion hammer thrower Pawel Fajdek reportedly used his gold medal to pay for a taxi back to his hotel after getting drunk.

The Pole won the men’s hammer throw title at the World Championsips on Sunday with a throw of 80.88 metres.

But he lost the medal on the way back to his hotel and reported it missing on Monday, Chinese website Tencent reported.

Local police tracked down the taxi driver, who said Fajdek handed the medal over willingly.

Polish reporters confirmed Fajdek had “drunk a lot at the celebration party”.