Beijing Olympic star Robin Bell has had his Games canoe stolen and warns it's useless - even dangerous - in inexperienced hands.

The West Australian paddler earned national acclaim when he became the first Australian to win an Olympic whitewater canoeing medal in Beijing in August.

But the bronze medallist's plans to resume training have been stalled after he discovered the canoe he used in Beijing had been stolen from the Penrith Whitewater Stadium.

Bell, who last competed at the NSW State Championships on October 19, discovered the loss when he went to the venue in Sydney's west yesterday for the visit of WA Sports Minister Terry Waldron.

"It is more annoying than anything else as I had just started getting back into training again and this has put a hold on that," Bell said.

"I'm still not sure in what capacity I will be paddling next year but this has slowed my plans down.

"The canoes that we use are pretty advanced and technical and would be very hard, if not dangerous, for an inexperienced paddler to use, so it seems like a bit of a waste if it just sits in someone's garage gathering dust."

AAP