A 44-year-old Slovak man was arrested after spending 16 years on the run for crimes he’d committed in Italy, risking his arrest by returning to the country to watch the Winter Olympics.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are officially underway in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, pitting the world’s best athletes against each other in seasonal sports like speed skating, figure skating, bobsledding, and many more.
Fans around the world are tuning in to watch the action, but one man just had to be there in person… even though it meant putting his freedom at risk.
In 2010, a man from Slovakia committed a string of robberies across various shops in Italy, putting him on the Italian police’s wanted list.
For 16 years the man, now 44 years old, remained in hiding. That is, until the Winter Olympics came to Milan.
A Slovakian man risked his arrest to watch the 2026 Olympic games.
Man on the run for 16 years caught after daring return for Olympics
An avid hockey fan, the middle-aged thief decided to take the plunge and booked a stay at a guesthouse on the outskirts of Milan to watch the national Slovakian team compete on the ice.
Unfortunately for him, a hotel in the area alerted local police, who swiftly honed in on his location and arrested him. He is currently being detained at San Vittore prison, where he will serve a sentence of 11 months and seven days to atone for his “crimes against property.”
Unsplash.com: Bosco YunItalian police arrested the 44-year-old Slovak national after a local hotel alerted authorities of his whereabouts.
The Winter Olympics have been an exciting affair, with several moments going viral on social media. For instance, a Spanish figure skater was able to pull off his Minions-themed routine despite a last-minute copyright threat from Universal Pictures, while another endeared fans after asking her professor for an extension on her assignment in order to compete in the Games.
Jutta Leerdam, Olympic speed skater and fiancé to YouTube star Jake Paul, also broke a world record for the sport and won Gold in her event, leaving her husband-to-be tearfully celebrating her achievement in an emotional display that took social media by storm.
