As the winner of 12 Olympic medals in swimming, Jenny Thompson knows a lot about staying tough under pressure. And two thugs in Brookline, Mass., discovered just how tough Thompson still is when they tried to steal her Vespa scooter Monday night.
"The first thing they did was punch me in the face, so my gut instinct was to fight," Thompson told WBZ-TV.
"I fought them off and was screaming at the top of my lungs and people came out of the houses," Thompson, 37, said. "I was screaming so loud, I didn't know I could scream so loud. I was screaming 'Help! Help me! I'm being attacked!' and I think that helped."
The men ran off, leaving Thompson and the scooter behind. Thompson had cuts and scrapes on her nose, knees and arms when police arrived and was treated by an ambulance crew.
"I felt lucky there were people around who were willing to help and call the cops," she said. "If I had been somewhere more isolated, I think it could have been a lot worse."
Police later arrested three teens who were riding stolen scooters, but it's unclear whether they were involved in the attack.
