Paralympic hero shattered as thieves steal prized treasure
Just under a year ago Tiffany Thomas Kane swam to glory, claiming gold at the Rio Paralympics, but her achievements have been tarnished this week with one of her most valued possesions stolen from her grandmother's home.
Tiffany Thomas Kane was a Paralympic champion at 15-years-old and a proud recipient of an Order of Australia Medal.
She was born with Hypochondroplasia and is an inspiration to other Australians.
But as of Tuesday this week she has a lot less to show for it.
Her grandmother's house was broken into.
Thieves found and unlocked her safe, escaping with Tiffany's Order of Australia Medal and around $60,000 worth of her family's jewellery.
"The OAM reminded me of all the hard work I did in Rio and all the medals I won," said Tiffany.
"To have it in my hands it was just amazing but to think I don't have it in my hands now it's just really sad."
Her mother Lee Kane said, "That's probably the most sad part, you know, the jewellery can be replaced but those type of things can't be."
It's not the first time Tiffany's been targeted.
In 2015, she was at the centre of a bullying scandal at Ravenswood School for girls.
"To think something else has just broken my heart even more, from one thing to another thing," she said.
Police have told the family this was a profesisonal job.
They found no fingerprints, and no signs of forced entry. There are no security cameras, and no witnesses.
All that's left for the family is a photo and their memories of the day.
Luckily, Tiffany keeps her medals from Rio in a more secret spot.
