Tauranga windsurfer Coral Headey will represent New Zealand at the Youth Olympics. Photo/supplied
A Tauranga teen is preparing to compete in the Youth Olympic Games next week using borrowed gear after her $3000 windsurfing kit was stolen.
Coral Headey's custom-fitted gear was in her mother's car when the car was stolen from a petrol station on Friday night.
The theft was just one
of a spate of car thefts from Tauranga petrol stations last week. Ms Headey's car was recovered by police on Sunday and returned to her but the gear was gone. "It was unbelievably devastating ... I couldn't stop crying ... I just stood there and thought, 'what am I going to tell my daughter?'," Ms Headey said.
"It's one of those scenarios where the gear is so specific so anyone can't just pick it up and use it ... they won't have much use out of it ... but it's so valuable to us."
The sail is covered in identifiable stickers meaning it would be hard for someone to sell on, she said. "We just want to appeal respectfully and humbly to the individuals who have got our gear to please give it back."
