Arnaud Assoumani

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2012-07-23 10:11

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Paris - French police have saved the day for a long jumper planning to take part in the London Paralympics after the athlete had his prosthetic arm stolen by a pair of assailants, officials said on Tuesday.

Arnaud Assoumani, who took gold in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing and set a new world record with a jump of 7.23m, was set upon on Saturday in the Paris suburb of Bobigny by two men who sprayed him with tear gas.

They stole his scooter in which he had placed his prosthetic arm, the local town hall said in a statement that added that without the arm he might not have been able to take part in the games in August and September.

But police in a nearby suburb arrested a man on Sunday who admitted to being one of the thieves and led officers to a bush where he had discarded the arm, the statement said.

The artificial limb was undamaged.

Earlier this year, Assoumani launched a competition for artists to come up with a design that he will sport on the false arm he will use during the Paralympics, which start in London on 29 August.