Shot putter Sophie McKinna thanked a school pupil for finding her stolen equipment after winning the UK Indoor title in Birmingham.
But a schoolgirl saw a news bulletin about the theft and had seen the dumped equipment on her way home.
“It was elation because I was concerned about not having my shots for this competition,” McKinna said.
“I was very pleased they got in touch. I met them and they took me to where she’d seen them and lo and behold the whole bag was there, my training diary, my two shots, my shoes, my chalk, the whole lot.
“The press [coverage] definitely helped because they were dumped and in quite a visible place as well.”
McKinna, the granddaughter of former Norwich City defender and manager Dave Stringer, won the UK title with a best effort of 17.20m, 0.19 further than second-placed Amelia Strickler.
But she afterwards revealed that she thought about giving up the sport in the latter part of 2022 after changes to her technique did not bring the improvement she had hoped for.
“It’s been a bit of a turbulent time and not just because of the theft of my equipment, I toyed with retirement in November-December time,” the 28-year-old said.
“It’s not been the best few months but I’m here, I’ve won the championship and achieved what I wanted to achieve. I don’t think I can put into words how much it means to me.”
McKinna continued: “Me and my coach had a lot of discussions, he’s an ex-shot putter and I turn to him for advice.
“He just said ‘When it’s over, it’s over’ but it’s very hard to return to that mindset of being an elite athlete. He was absolutely right and I believe I have so much more to give this sport.
“It was just a rough time for me. I tried changing technique last year and lost the real bare bones of who I was. I lost my confidence and [ability] to compete. That’s not my personality at all. I’ve had to claw my way back.”
McKinna’s indoor season is now over and she is setting her sights on the World Championships in August, having finished eighth in Belgrade last year.
“I’d love to qualify for that. I think that would be real redemption for everything I’ve gone through in the last year. I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” she added.
“I’ve got to claw back some centimetres, get the qualifying distance and hopefully get my bottom on the plane.”
