Reigning Olympic BMX freestyle champion Logan Martin’s title defense has gotten off to a rocky start after thieves broke into the Australian team’s van in Brussels, stealing equipment and personal belongings.
Martin took to Instagram on Wednesday to share videos of the incident, showing the smashed passenger side window of the vehicle and police officers speaking to a member of the Australian delegation.
“Our van got broken into last night,” Martin said in the video. “Luckily my bikes weren’t in there, although my bike bags were in there with some things in it.”
Martin lost his wallet, backpack, and other items in the theft. “What a crazy start to the trip,” he wrote in the caption of the video. “It’s unfortunate when people feel the need to do things like this.”
In a later video, Martin and his teammates discovered some of their stolen bags beside a bench nearby. They attributed this to the “bag tags” that were attached to the bags.
Martin, who won gold in Tokyo ahead of Venezuela’s Daniel Dhers, is currently in Brussels with the Australian team for a training camp before leaving for Paris on Wednesday.
The incident has cast a shadow over Martin’s preparations for the upcoming BMX Freestyle World Championships in Abu Dhabi, which will serve as a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Martin is one of the favorites to win the gold medal in Paris, and he will be hoping to put the theft behind him and focus on his training.
