U.S. Olympic swimmer Brendan Hansen lost his gold medal from the Beijing games during a weekend flight that stopped in Nashville, but got it back a day later.

The breaststroke specialist was returning to Austin, Texas, on Sunday night after a visiting his suburban Philadelphia hometown for a bachelor party. The medal was in a carry-on bag.

Hansen noticed it was missing when he prepared to get off the plane in Texas and told Southwest Airlines about it. His mother, Miriam Hansen, told The Associated Press a female college student said she found the medal on the floor near the rear of the plane's cabin and contacted Brendan Hansen by going through the University of Texas.

The finder said she wanted to hand it to him personally. Miram Hansen said her son handed the student what she described as "a huge check."