Three-time Olympic hammer throw champion Anita Wlodarczyk said she will undergo surgery after being injured while apprehending a thief who attempted to break into her car.

Poland's Wlodarczyk, who became the first woman to win an individual Olympic athletics event three times in a row in Tokyo last year, said the thief was a "foreigner."

"I single-handedly apprehended the thief and handed him over to the police," Wlodarczyk wrote in a post on Instagram on Friday, along with a picture of her car, which had scuff marks on it.

"Unfortunately I paid for it with a muscle injury. Injury diagnosed. Surgery on Monday.

"Thank you (Polish police) for your quick intervention. After my career I think I'll fight in MMA or UFC like our champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk because the perpetrator got hurt..."

The 36-year-old will be looking to recover from the injury before the World Championships in Oregon in July, where she could win her fifth world title.

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