'Hammered' Athlete Denies Trading Gold Medal For Cab Fare

Champion hammer thrower Pawel Fajdek is hammering a story alleging he was so drunk that he paid cab fare with a gold medal.

Fajdek, 26, won the gold medal at the World Athletic Championships in Beijing on Sunday by throwing the hammer 80.88 meters (265 feet).

The Xinhua News Agency reports that the 6-foot-1-inch, 282-pound Fajdek celebrated the victory by getting so hammered that he used the medal to pay cab fare .

Many news sources, including the Daily Star, claim Fajdek was seen "drinking a lot in celebration, " but Fajdek is attempting to hammer home the truth on his Facebook page.

In a post written in Polish, Fajdek insists, "you can't lose things where we know it is located."

Fajdek said, after posing for pictures with numerous people, including the cab driver mentioned in the media, he accidentally left the medal in the cab and the driver drove off with it unknowingly.

Fajdek was able to get the medal back, but denies being drunk to the point that he would confuse a gold medal with actual Chinese currency.

Fajdek also accuses the Chinese media of making up the story.

"Chinese media reaction was logical. They wouldn't describe your citizen as guilty because it's easier to blame it on the other side," he wrote.