Greg Rutherford says 'ultimate downer' of Rio Olympics is having his phone stolen

The British athlete won a bronze medal in the long jump over the weekend

Greg Rutherford (Getty)

Long jump star Greg Rutherford has hit out after thieves in Rio swiped a mobile phone containing pictures of his young son.

The Team GB ace tweeted that the phone, containing pictures of his 22-month-old son Milo, had been taken on Sunday.

The London 2012 gold-medallist, who took a disappointing bronze on Saturday, became the latest Olympic athlete to be targeted by criminals during the Brazil games.

He said: “The ultimate downer from this champs is having my phone stolen. Just for the pics and videos of Milo.”

His message prompted a reply from Belgian decathlete Thomas Van der Plaetsen, who said: “Join the club.”

Rutherford came third in the long jump after years of dominating the discipline. Afterwards the reigning World, European and Commonwealth champion said: “You can tell from my face I am not exactly the happiest at the moment.”

His tweet was posted on the same day as 12-time Olympic medallist Ryan Lochte and three other American swimmers were robbed at gunpoint by thieves pretending to be police officers, who stopped their taxi.

In a statement posted on Instagram Lochte said: “While it is true that my teammates and I were victims of a robbery early Sunday morning, what is most important is that we are safe and unharmed.”

Incidents during the Games so far have included athletes, diplomats and sports officials being robbed, a spate of thefts at the Olympic Village, security forces performing at least two controlled explosions at sports venues and the shooting dead of a local man after the opening ceremony after he tried to mug a senior security official.

Last Wednesday windows were smashed on a bus carrying a dozen journalists who travelled between the Deodoro zone and the main transport mall in Rio's Olympic Park at around 1930 local time (2330BST). It was alleged the windows may have been shot out but Rio 2016's security director Luiz Fernando Correa said a rock, not a bullet, was to blame.

Press Association.