Children take on Tatiana's cause

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/co ... 48,00.html

Children take on Tatiana's cause
By Steve Connolly
28jul06
A GROUP of Brisbane primary school children have launched a campaign to help glamour athlete Tatiana Grigorieva recover her stolen sporting medals.

Grigorieva's Olympic, Commonwealth and world championship pole vault medals were stored in a safe stolen last week from a close friend's business in Brisbane.

Former Hockeyroos captain Katrina Powell suffered the same fate when her sporting mementoes, including two Olympic gold medals, were stolen this week in a break-in at her Perth home.

Grigorieva's loss of what she described as her "life in a box" has prompted year three students at John Paul College in Brisbane's south to rally to her cause.

The children's teacher Saskia Pietrobon is a friend of Grigorieva's and the Sydney Olympic silver medallist has been a frequent visitor to the school, bringing her medals.

"The children have been deeply upset by the loss of Tatiana's medals," Ms Pietrobon said today.

"One of the children in my class decided to launch a medal investigation to try and appeal to the public to help get the medals back."

The children have created posters to put in shopping centres and parks to seek information about the medals.

"They feel sad that other children may never get to have the experience that they shared with Tatiana," Ms Pietrobon said.

Grigorieva, who is in London where she will compete tonight (Australian time) in a grand prix athletics meet, was touched by what the young students were doing.

"Isn't it good to see that good things can come out of such a bad thing," she said.

Police have so far recovered an empty safe and her athlete accreditation from the this year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

But security cameras partially captured the face of the burglar and it's believed he may have left a mobile phone at the crime scene at Tingalpa in Brisbane's east