A safety deposit box will be the new home for Lauren Burns' gold medal after the retired taekwondo star was reunited with her prized possession.

A delighted Burns had her stolen medal returned after a television station was tipped off to the medal's whereabouts - under a rubbish bin in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood.

Burns, who won gold in the 49kg class at the Sydney Olympics, arrived home on Wednesday from an overseas holiday to discover her home ransacked by burglars and the medal missing.

She put out a public plea for information and was staggered by the wave of support.

"This sounds really corny, but it's like the people's medal as well as mine," she said.

"It's my medal and I won it, but people value it as Australia's medal - it's their medal and they're protecting it - and it's been really lovely that so many people have come out."

Channel Nine received an anonymous call about 9am and was told of the medal's whereabouts.

"We had a call from someone who had just become aware of its whereabouts and we just went and had a look and it was there," Nine News deputy chief of staff Nick Coe said.

Nine contacted police and Burns' management, before handing the medal over to her about 5pm.

Burns denied she struck a deal with Nine for exclusive story rights despite her being presented with the medal on the network's news bulletin and then appearing on A Current Affair.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP