Games medal theft devastates cyclist

Tim Pawson's bronze cycling medal was among items stolen by burglars. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A Commonwealth Games cyclist is devastated after his prized medal was stolen during the burglary of his Auckland home.

Tim Pawson dedicated 10 years of his life in training to eventually become part of the third-placed 100km time trial team in the 1994 games in Victoria, Canada.

He'd managed to keep the medal safely hidden in his Mt Eden wardrobe for the past 21 years, but sometime during daytime on Tuesday a burglar busted through the door of their home.

"It looked like they'd used a crow bar to prise it open and they'd just gone through the whole house," Mr Pawson said.

"Every single drawer was out and everything from the drawers was out on the floor and all the usual stuff that you would expect to be gone that someone can sell quick like iPad, laptop, stereo - but not the speakers - and some jewellery, sports watch."

But then he went to his wardrobe and saw his clothes all clumped together. "My medal was gone."

He went into shock, then denial and began hunting for it.

But then reality sank in as he knew it was the only place he'd kept it.

His two sons, Bernard, 8, and Edward, 10, then arrived home. Edward was initially upset at his iPad being stolen but then he felt sorry for his dad.

"I told him we could buy a new one but when I told him my medal had gone he stopped crying because he realised 'oh well you can't replace what you've lost' and then he got even more upset because it can't be replaced," he said.

His wife, Penny, was also upset at the invasion of privacy, but Mr Pawson was realistic about burglaries.

"I'm not too affected by the burglary because burglaries do happen and happen to people that you know.

"You've just got to get even more secure, so I'm going to put some more cameras in," he said.

Now, he just hoped that whoever had taken it realised what it was and handed it in.

"You kinda hope that they might look at it or someone might say, 'you shouldn't have taken that' and then maybe it might just get handed in somewhere."

Despite all that had happened, he still managed a wry joke.

"I jokingly said to my wife I'm going to have to take 10 years off work to train up for the next one.

"But of course that can't happen, I'm 45," he laughed.

He urged anyone with information to go to their nearest police station.