Champion yachtsman Russell Coutts took no special precautions when he sent his Olympic gold medal to his old school this week.
The three-time America's Cup winner just bundled it into an envelope, wrote an accompanying note on an Alinghi letterhead and posted it off to Otago Boys High School in Dunedin.
"It's fair to say I was a little taken aback," Coutts' friend and Otago Boys master of yachting Allan Garbutt said yesterday.
"I'd been badgering Russell for a while for some sort of memorabilia, but I didn't expect this. The package arrived and out falls this big heavy gold thing. It's amazing, an extremely nice gesture."
Mr Garbutt said Coutts, who skippered Alinghi to take the America's Cup from Team NZ - his former team - two weeks ago, had been supportive of his old school, donating a yachting trophy and frequently calling in to chat to pupils. Three years ago he presented his Team New Zealand shirt to the school.
Coutts won gold in the Finn class at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, famously overcoming painful boils to sail to victory.
Mr Garbutt said the medal, which came with the original Olympic scoresheet, was most likely to be displayed permanently at the school, alongside photographs of Coutts' glittering career.
Otago Boys rector Clive Rennie said Coutts' gesture was "humbling".
- NZPA
Coutts sends golden gift to old school
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