North Fulton County

‘Invaluable to me:’ Olympic ring, jackets stolen from athlete’s north Fulton home

By Bryan Mims, WSB-TV
By Bryan Mims, WSB-TV

ROSWELL, Ga. — Police are looking for a burglar who broke into an Olympic athlete’s Roswell apartment and stole memorabilia from the games, including an Olympic ring and jackets.

Chris Kinney, a native of Stockbridge, was on Team U.S.A. as a bobsledder during the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

He told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims that the burglary happened early Tuesday morning at Big Creek Apartments on Belcourt Parkway.

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“I don’t know what it was, but something just told me to check my camera,” said Kinney, who was traveling in Florida at the time. As he looked at a live video feed of his living room, he saw a man on the prowl. “I went into panic mode,” he said.

Kinney called Roswell police and immediately drove home. That’s when he discovered that many of his Olympic belongings, including a ring with his name engraved on it, had been stolen. “My entire Olympic kit, my opening and closing ceremonies jacket, my press jackets,” Kinney said.

“Everything was just a reminder of the hard work and the journey I went through to make an Olympic team, and the journey I’m still on today,” he said.

The burglar also stole his television, a game console and a camera, along with two Samurai swords and heirlooms from his Japanese grandparents. But the TV and electronics, he said, can be replaced.

“Just the memories that come along with all of my Olympic gear, those are invaluable to me,” he said.

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The thief broke in through a sliding glass door and plundered through boxes in a bedroom. On the video feed, a man is seen walking into the living room and turning off the camera.

“I’ve wanted to be on the Olympic team since the Olympics came to Atlanta in ‘96, and I promised my grandparents I would make a team one day,” Kinney said. He describes the items stolen as “the fruits of the blood, sweat and tears that I put into being an athlete, into competing and to making the Olympic games.”

Roswell police said they have “very strong leads,” but have not identified a suspect. They have not received any other reports of apartment break-ins at the complex, said officer Tim Lupo. It’s unclear why this apartment was targeted.

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