Greene catches airport thief

HE MUST be the stupidest thief in the world. If you were about to snatch a bag at an airport, and there were people around looking vaguely like athletes, you might think twice.

Not so the hapless thief who took off with the bag of Larry Wade, a member of the United States athletics team, shortly after they had arrived in Seville for the World Championships, which start tomorrow.

Wade and his team-mate, Maurice Greene, the world 100 metres champion, saw the thief in action, then chased and caught him and retrieved the bag.

"Larry was sitting down with his wallet beside him," Greene said. "The man just tried to take it and walk away like nothing happened. He tried to act like he was slick.

"At least it puts me in a good frame of mind for the championships. I'm not going to go home empty-handed," Greene added.