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OLYMPIC and Commonwealth diver Peter Waterfield from Southampton is appealing to motorists for help after losing his silver Olympic and gold Commonwealth medals on the M3 motorway yesterday evening (October 18). The spring and highboard diver, who took the first British medal of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens with his diving partner Leon Taylor, was travelling from Southampton to London between 4pm and 7pm when he realised his medals had gone missing. The 26-year-old was on his way to an event in the city on his motorbike and was being followed by fellow diver Blake Aldridge who was in a car. Blake noticed Peter's rucksack was not closed properly. Peter said: "Blake alerted me to the fact that my bag was open and we stopped near the M3/M25 junction and I checked my rucksack to ensure it was secure. It was then that I realised that my medals, which I was taking to London for the talk I was doing, were missing." This morning (October 19) Peter contacted the Highways Agency and a representative said the organisation's staff would look out for the medals during any routine maintenance or patrolling on the M3. Peter, who is ranked second in the world in the synchro diving event and fifth individually, continued: "I am very grateful to the Highways Agency for all they are able to do but I also wanted to appeal to any motorists who might have seen me and then seen something come out of my rucksack to get in touch. "Obviously, I am not suggesting people stop on the hard shoulder and search for my medals as that would be dangerous and irresponsible but if anyone saw anything and has an idea where I may have lost them then I'd be very keen to receive that information." The sportsman, whose success at the FINA World Championships earlier in the year means he has secured the British team a place in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was riding a 2007 registration, orange, Kawasaki ZX6R motorbike. He was wearing a blue pair of jeans, a grey top and a multi-coloured helmet, with predominantly blue and orange coloured markings on it. On his back he had a black Commonwealth Games rucksack style bag that fastens with a zip. For most of the journey, Peter was travelling at 70mph in the middle and outside lanes. Peter added: "Apart from my family and close friends, those two medals are the two most important things in my life. The silver Olympic medal has a light blue ribbon attached to it and the gold Commonwealth medal has a dark blue ribbon attachment. "They wouldn't be worth much to anyone else but are priceless and irreplaceable to me. "The medals are a reasonable size and would have been noticeable if they had fallen out of my racksack at 70mph on the motorway especially if you were travelling behind me. I'd be grateful if anyone who saw anything contacted the newspapers, website, radio or TV station where they heard about this and they can then pass on any information to me. Or they can contact the Highways Agency, which has put up signage along the motorway asking people to get in touch and they will let me know. Thank you." For further information about Peter Waterfield, please visit www.peterwaterfield.co.uk. |
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| For further media details and interviews only, please call Peter Waterfield on 07920 098637 or the Southampton Director of Coaching, Lindsey Fraser on 02380 720922 but please note Lindsey is leaving for the USA this evening (October 19). Alternatively, please contact Peter's PR agency, Porcupine PR on 01934 750880, email Rachel@porcupinepr.co.uk or visit www.porcupinepr.co.uk. |
| Photographs of Peter with his medals are available on request from Porcupine PR. |