Olympic kayaker Stephen Bird has made a plea for thieves to return his custom-made boat stolen from a Doubleview home (Perth, Western Australia) last week. Bird discovered the K1 kayak missing from the roof of his car as he prepared to leave his sister’s home for a morning paddle.

“It’s obviously devastating,” Bird said.

“This is the craft I won my national championship in earlier this month, and without it I won’t be able to train.”

The 24-year-old competed alongside Jesse Phillips in the final of the K2 200m event at the London Olympics last year.

He is currently preparing to represent Australia at the world championships in Germany in August and said he would struggle to replace the kayak, which was worth “thousands" of dollars.

“I’m up the creek without a boat, never mind the paddle,” he said.

“It would be practically useless to anyone else, and they (thief) won’t be able to sell it as it readily identifiable.

“I’d just love to get it back. As a full-time athlete this is going to hit hard, and that’s without the sentimental value.”