TWO-TIME OLYMPIAN’S MEDALS STOLEN FROM ARTESIA HOME
By Los Cerritos Community Newspaper Group
ARTESIA – Two Olympic bronze medals awarded to speed skater Rusty Smith were taken from his parents’ home in Artesia on Thursday.
There are no leads on the case, but detectives continue to investigate, according to the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station.
The two-time Olympian told NBC4 that the medals were inside a safe hidden in a closet and bolted to the floor of the home.
Smith was a short track speed skater and won bronze in the 500-meter at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He earned another bronze medal in the 5,000-meter relay alongside teammates Alex Izykowski, J. P. Kepka, and Apolo Anton Ohno at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
