Former Olympic triathlete Simon Thompson lost much more than ''just stuff'' when a fire ripped through a unit in Kambah last week.
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The blaze all but destroyed the Pinkerton Circuit residence on Friday night, charring bricks, collapsing the roof and turning nearly all its contents, including MrThompson's irreplaceable sporting memorabilia, to ash.
Everything Mr Thompson owned, save a small suitcase of clothes, was lost in the fire. But it's the mementoes he will miss most.
The flames destroyed treasured keepsakes of a successful career as a champion triathlete, including competing for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
A large collection of sporting souvenirs, including the race outfit he wore during the Olympic triathlon, where he placed 10th, were destroyed.
He lost signed jerseys, framed Commonwealth Games photographs and shirts signed by close friends, and a collection of other memorabilia to which the memories of his achievements are tied.
''The first thing I did think of was all the Olympic stuff, the memorabilia, because they're the things that just aren't replaceable, the rest of it was just stuff,'' MrThompson said.
''Memories do tend to fade a little bit, and for me a lot of that time was quite hazy, I was quite focussed on [competing],'' he said.
''A lot of that stuff isn't fresh in my memory, so it's nice to have those little reminders. It's sad to have lost that.''
Mr Thompson was in Sydney when the blaze tore through the unit at about 8.50pm on Friday.
He hadn't slept a single night there, but had stored everything he owned in the unit while helping friend Michael Bulters renovate it before they both moved in.
When firefighters first called him, Mr Thompson could not believe what had happened, thinking it was a prank.
He was still trying to grasp the consequences when he visited the burnt-out site for the first time yesterday.
''It's unbelievable, it's literally torched, unsalvageable, it's quite amazing to see it look like this,'' he said.
The fire is being treated as suspicious and ACT Policing have confirmed that investigations are continuing.
Fire investigators have not determined the cause.