South Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo (C) is flanked by coaches Jeon Dong-hyun (L) and Ian Pope after a training session in Melbourne, in this photo provided by the Korea Swimming Federation on May 10, 2022. (Yonhap)
With the help of a veteran Australian coach who has produced multiple world champions, South Korean teenage swimmer Hwang Sun-woo is hoping to join the ranks this summer.
Hwang arrived in Melbourne on April 20 for a special six-week training camp, where Ian Pope, a highly successful swimming coach with decades of experience, has been trying to get the most out of the 18-year-old.
Hwang traveled along with three national team freestyle teammates, Lee Ho-joon, Kim Woo-min and Lee Yoo-yeon, as the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF) looked to bolster the country’s gold medal hope in the men’s 4x200m relay at the Asian Games in September and get them ready for the world championships in Budapest next month.
With the Asian Games now postponed due to COVID-19, Hwang and his teammates can now concentrate just on the world championships. And Hwang, the next big swimming star from South Korea after the 2008 Olympic gold medalist Park Tae-hwan, is the only one of the quartet who can make some noise in Hungary.
In an online press conference organized by the KSF on Tuesday, Hwang did not hide his ambitions.
“It’d be great to reach the podium in the 200-meter freestyle. I will try to do my best to get to the very top,” Hwang said of his main event. “In the 100m freestyle, I’d be happy to reach the final. And if I can make it to the podium, it’d be a valuable experience.”
Hwang said his recent success had given him confidence for upcoming races.
He first made his presence felt at last year’s Tokyo Olympics. Hwang set an Asian record in the 100m freestyle semifinals. In the 200m freestyle final, Hwang was on a world record pace early before running out of gas over the final stretch and finishing in seventh place.
Then in December last year, Hwang won the 200m freestyle title at the world short course championships, held in a 25m pool rather than the Olympic-sized 50m pool. Two months earlier, Hwang had won another short course title, winning the 200m freestyle final at a World Cup event in Qatar.
In the 50m pool, Hwang’s personal best in the 200m freestyle is 1:44.62, set at the Tokyo Olympics. It remains the world junior record. In March this year, Hwang won the 200m free final at the national team trials in 1:45.79.
It would be the second-fastest time in the world this year, behind only 1:45.44 by Lukas Martens of Germany from April. FINA, the international swimming governing body, has not yet listed Hwang’s time from the South Korean trials on its official rankings for the 2022 season. No other swimmer has broken the 1:46 mark so far.
“To get to the podium at the worlds, you will have to be in the mid to late 1:44s or early 1:45s at least,” Hwang said. “I’ve gained some experience since last year, with the Olympics and the world short course championships. If I can continue to build on that, I should have a good result in the 200m (at the world championships).”
Hwang said Pope has been particularly helpful in concentrating on smaller details, whether it’s his strokes, kicks or turns.
“I’ve been able to identify areas that I needed to work on, and coach Pope has been giving us such detailed instructions,” Hwang said of the coach who has seen his pupils set 11 world records. “He has been taking underwater videos of our training sessions and breaking down finer points. I’ve been trying to soak up as much as I can. I feel like I’ve improved so much here technically.”
In particular, Pope has been working on improving Hwang’s underwater dolphin kicks at the start and at the turns, so that he could give himself a better push.
“I’ve never worked on dolphin kicks that much in training, but in Australia, the coach has told us to make six dolphin kicks every time,” said Hwang, who said he had mostly done three or four dolphin kicks. “It was pretty taxing at first, but we’ve all gotten used to it.”
Hwang said Pope has also helped him mentally.
“From the day I got here, he told me I have a great feel for the water,” Hwang said with a smile. “Hearing that from someone who has coached so many great swimmers … that has given me a lot of confidence.”
Chad le Clos has been included in the team to represent South Africa at the 2022 FINA World Championships for an incredible seventh time. Photo: Deryck Foster
Chad le Clos has been included in the team to represent South Africa at the upcoming 2022 FINA World Championships for an incredible seventh time.
Swimming South Africa announced the team that will compete at the event in Budapest, Hungary from 18 June to 3 July with Le Clos leading the charge along with several young guns who will be competing at their first world championships.
Among them is teenage sensation Lara van Niekerk, who beat Olympic 100m breaststroke silver medallist Tatjana Schoenmaker to the national title in that event in April, swimming to the fourth fastest time in the world this year. She’ll be competing in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke.
“Of course I am so happy to make the team to compete in Budapest, especially since this will be my first World Championships and I have always dreamt about racing the best in the world,” said Van Niekerk.
“The past few months have given me a lot of confidence going into races, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. At Worlds I just want to focus on executing my race plan as best I can, and enjoying the whole experience,” added the 18-year-old from Pretoria.
Lara van Niekerk in action at the 2022 SA National Swimming Championships at Newton Park Swimming Pool in Gqeberha. Photo: Deryck Foster
Fellow teenagers Matthew Sates (18) and Pieter Coetzé (17), who were part of the SA team at the Tokyo Olympics last year, will also compete in Budapest.
Sates broke several junior world records on his way to winning the overall short course (25m) World Cup title in 2021 and he’ll be eager to announce himself on the long course stage (50m) while Coetzé currently boasts the third fastest time in the world this year in the 200m backstroke.
Speaking about his inclusion in the team, Chad le Clos said: “I think it’s a big honour because no-one has ever done seven from South Africa that I can remember in recent years so I’m just super-happy to be going to another World Championships of course.”
Chad le Clos likely to focus on 3 butterfly distances
The 30-year-old, who first competed at the event when he was a teenager himself, is likely to compete in the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly.
“I’m really excited – we have a very young team. This is a golden time for South African swimming,” he added referring to the likes of Van Niekerk, Sates and Coetzé.
“It’s phenomenal to see and I really hope that this year they can get in some finals, get on a couple of podiums and win some medals.
“Obviously the Commonwealth Games is also down the line so we’re also very excited about that – two majors this year.”
Several swimmers who have qualified for the World Championships and have been included on the team list have chosen instead to focus only on the Commonwealth Games, which are taking place just a few weeks after the Budapest event.
Meanwhile, also announced by Swimming South Africa were the teams to represent the country in open water swimming, diving, artistic swimming and water polo.
The swimming programme in Hungary will take place from 18-25 June with the diving being contested from 26 June-3 July.
Open water swimming will take place from 26-30 June. Artistic swimming will be contested from 17-25 June with the men’s and women’s water polo tournaments being played from 20 June-3 July.
FULL SOUTH AFRICA TEAM:
Swimming
Aimee Canny (200m freestyle), Emma Chelius (50, 100m freestyle), Pieter Coetzé (50, 100, 200m backstroke), Dune Coetzee (200 butterfly, 200, 400m freestyle), Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Brendan Crawford (100m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (100 freestyle), Michael Houlie (50m breaststroke), Stephanie Houtman (1500m freestyle), Clayton Jimmie (50m freestyle), Chad le Clos (50, 100, 200 butterfly), Rebecca Meder (100m back, 200 & 400 IM), Olivia Nel (50m backstroke), Michaela Pulford (800m freestyle), Matthew Randle (200m breaststroke), Matthew Sates (100, 200, 400 freestyle, 200 IM), Tatjana Schoenmaker (50, 100, 200m breaststroke), Lara van Niekerk (50, 100m breaststroke), Inge Weidemann (50m butterfly)
Open Water Swimming
Ruan Breytenbach (5km, 10km) Connor Buck (5km, 10km) Amica de Jager (5km, 10km) Catherine van Rensburg (5km, 10km)
Diving
Grace Brammer (Synchro 3m), Cydney Liebenberg (1m), Kerry-Leigh Morrison (Synchro 3m), Julia Vincent (1m, 3m)
Artistic Swimming
Kaitlyn Doms, Chloe Dundas-Starr, Kathleen Jarvis, Jessica McCarthy, Skye McDonald, Siphokazi Myende, Laura Strugnell, Ayrton Sweeney, Rachel Taylor, Roxanne Thornton, Tayla-Jade Van Huyssteen, Xera Vegter-Maharajh, Casey Williams
Water Polo – Men
Ignardus Badenhorst, Dylan Cronje, Todd Howard, Cameron Laurenson, Lwazi Madi, Farouk Mayman, Lonwabo Mfikili, Roarke Olver, Chad Roman, Ross Stone, Jonathan Swanepoel, Dane Tucker, Niall Wheeler
Sometimes people go through deeply traumatizing experiences that leave a mark on the individual. Such distressing incidents are hard to forget, it impacts their personal and professional life. Moreover, athletes who experience them are often unable to perform to their potential. Chad le Clos confirmed a similar account during a recent interview.
In an interview with a local media publication in South Africa, Le Clos revealed that he underwent a traumatic situation during the early months of last year. Following this, he has been battling depression. The athlete shot to fame after defeating Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly event by five-hundredths of a second at the 2012 Olympic Games. It was a substantial victory for the swimmer as the event is considered Phelps’ trademark event.
However, the Olympian could not keep up with Phelps at the Rio Olympics and came fourth in the 200m event, finishing seven-tenths of a second behind Phelps. The event was made iconic by Le Clos turning his head to keep tabs on Phelps during the final lap.
Le Clos failed to deliver at the Tokyo Olympics, with him finishing fifth in his mainstay event. Furthermore, he could not qualify the heats in the 100m fly. Reflecting on his performance at the Summer Games, Le Clos said, “I couldn’t believe I didn’t make the final. I was devastated, I was almost in tears after that race. I just felt like I let everyone down because we had worked so hard for that.”
“It was rough,” adds Chad. “Deep down we knew we couldn’t win. The preparation, mental stresses that I had.”
At one point, he reveals that several sponsors lessened their support for the swimmer after the meet. Although he has a devoted family and money is not his biggest concern, he admits, “It’s tough because you lose everything, you lose your way.”
Depression contributed to poor performance at Tokyo Olympics
Chad believes his poor performance at the Tokyo Olympics was partly due to a time of stressful ordeal that he experienced in January. The experience was so traumatic for the Olympic gold medalist that he says, “It’s something I’ll never talk about because it’s not for anybody else to know. But it was something so deep, it was worse than my parents having cancer and this was worse for them.”
Although he was not aware of it, Le Clos admits that the situation had quite an impact on the athlete. He adds, “Sometimes you don’t know that you’re swimming with that weight on your shoulders.” Furthermore, he stresses, “I lost all my confidence last year.”
He was hesitant to seek help before the Olympics even though his father wanted him to. Providing more clarity on the issue, he said, “I didn’t want to talk about it because I thought it would affect me – it was too close to the Olympics. I thought I’m just going to power through this and I’ll be ok. You’re training well and then you get to a meet and all those wobbles get to you.”
How is Le Clos holding up?
Le Clos sought the help of a professional after the Tokyo Olympics. The athlete believes he should have sought help sooner. Looking back, the athlete said, “I only started to speak to someone after the Olympics – biggest mistake of my life – and I started getting myself right again. I was in a dark place, even after the Olympics. I was super depressed.”
During this time, he underwent intense eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy. Having addressed the issues he has been facing, the swimmer is back to competing on the global level. He has been delivering a steady performance after seeking professional help. He even finished the 100m and 200m butterfly events at the SA Swimming Championships in Worlds qualifying times.
Currently, Le Clos is aiming to become the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history by surpassing Phillip Adams’ count of 18 medals. The swimmer has 17 Commonwealth medals and needs two more to outdo the Australian.
Apart from the Commonwealth Games, Chad is also preparing to compete at the Worlds next month and is confident about winning at the meets. Given the athlete’s recent performance, his prospects are looking rather favorable.
Swimming legend Sarah Ferguson, who is organising a public open ocean swim early next month in aid of marine conservation, shows some of the plastic she picked up off the beach in just 30 seconds. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad/African News Agency (ANA)
It’s time to go back to glass.
So said swimming legend Sarah Ferguson while walking along Durban’s beaches, devastated at the amount of plastic and other litter that was washed down by last month’s floods.
“We need to eliminate our plastic productions and go back to the deposit system. That is the way forward.”
Swimming legend Sarah Ferguson walks along the Durban beach, littered with plastic after the recent floods. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad/African News Agency (ANA)
When the floods hit, Ferguson was swimming off Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) on her epic swim from Durban to Cape Town, which she is scheduled to resume in November. It is to highlight plastic pollution in the ocean.
In the meantime, she is organising the June 4 Breathe World Oceans Day Swim at Durban Beach Club at Point Waterfront.
“A sea swim where all the money raised goes towards marine conservation is a first-of-its-kind in Durban, and that is exciting. After last year’s Covid-19 restricted event, we are pushing this year’s event and are looking forward to welcoming as many swimmers as possible to participate.”
Going back to issues of glass and plastic, Ferguson said it may, unfortunately, cost a bit more for producers and consumers.
“But that is the way forward to protect our oceans and to protect ourselves.”
Canoeist Stephen Cohen, who founded Durbanites Against Plastic Pollution, shared Ferguson’s views on the retail sector needing to up its game in promoting the recycling of plastic.
“Our water management systems are just not built to manage this level of plastic waste. And it looks set to increase,” Cohen recently told the Independent on Saturday.
“The private sector must come to the party if the government does not.”
Cohen said vague commitments around recycling appeared to be “a highway to nowhere”.
“Not unless there are major consumer changes. It’s not going to happen through litter booms and beach clean ups and increasing recycling targets from 50 to 60%.
“We have to get serious about implementing policies and supply chain systems.”
He lamented that a lot of retailers “are going the other way”.
Cohen also said there needed to be more financial incentives for people who walked the streets collecting plastic litter.
“Given the time it takes, they earn less than the minimum wage.”
He called on retailers to “take responsibility for incentivising consumers”.
Plastics SA, which represents all sectors of the South African Plastics Industry, said it did not agree that stricter legislation on retailers would be the proverbial “silver bullet” that will solve South Africa’s waste crisis, “although the government’s introduction of mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) under Section 18 of the National Environmental Management Waste Act (NEMWA) which came into effect in South Africa on May 5, 2021, is seen as a major step forward in the right direction”.
“EPR means that producers of packaged goods are responsible not only for health and safety issues associated with their products but also for the management of their post-consumer packaging waste, including collection, sorting and recycling.
“These policy objectives include changes for upstream (e.g. design for recycling) and downstream (e.g. plans for increased collection and higher overall rates of recycling), which we are optimistic will soon begin to bear fruit in South Africa and have a significant impact on the amount of packaging waste that is collected and effectively recycled.
“Another benefit of the new Section 18 EPR is that it makes a concerted effort to integrate waste pickers into a working and shorter recycling chain.”
The organisation said South Africa’s current waste collection and recycling system was still broken.
“South Africa needs to become even more serious about diverting waste from landfill and allow recyclers access to post-consumer waste streams if we are to improve our recycling rates and grow our circular economies. 34% of households in South Africa still do not have access to formal waste collection.
“As a result, the waste that could have been collected and recycled is either sent to landfill or ends up in the environment where it becomes dirty and contaminated.”
The statement said that in Europe, recyclables were removed from the waste stream as early as possible to ensure they retained their value.
“In South Africa, 64% of recyclables still comes from landfill and other post-consumer sources. Our recyclers have to invest in expensive wash plants to clean the material collected.
“We need an effective separation-at-source system across South Africa in all municipalities to prevent valuable waste from being sent to landfill, or worse yet, ending up in our rivers or oceans because there is no effective waste management system in place.”
Plastics SA agreed about the need to eliminate all unnecessary packaging ‒ regardless of the material ‒ and to reuse where possible.
“However, it is important that we take an evidence based approach to ensure we do not replace existing, fit-for-purpose packaging with more harmful alternatives.
“Because plastic is a lightweight material, it floats and is therefore often the most visible pollutant.
“This has caused the plastics industry to have a big target on its back despite the fact that we have been working hard to reflect year-on-year increases in the recycling rate with less plastic waste going to landfills.
“However, the industry’s efforts alone are not going to win the war on plastic pollution. It is vital that producers, brand owners, retailers, government and consumers join forces and work together around the collective goal of creating a litter-free environment.”
Plastics SA said clean-up teams from the local community, led by coordinators, would be employed over the next two months to help remove macro and micro pieces of litter from the major beaches and rivers in the Durban area.
Right wing activist group, Advance Australia has thrown significant effort behind campaigning against Labor, The Greens and Independents this election
Aussie swimmer Emily Seebohm has fired back after a billboard used her image to campaign against trans women in sport.
Both Swimming Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee are threatening legal action over the ad, which they say used the images without permission.
Conservative lobby group Advance Australia displayed pictures of Ms Seebohm and fellow swimmers Emma McKeon and Dawn Fraser alongside the words: “Women’s sport is not for men.”
“I have no idea who Advance Australia is but … I don’t want my photo next to something saying transphobic,” Ms Seebohm told The Project.
“That is a statement that I’ve never said and I don’t suggest nor support that and … the photo is just horrific! So the whole thing is just awful to me.”
The four-time Olympic backstroke champion said past statements by her regarding participation in women’s sport used by Advance Australia to justify their billboard were taken out of context.
“I’ve not once said that I don’t want inclusivity in this sport. I want everyone to feel included in this sport, we just have to work out how that works and how this will look,” she said.
Advance Australia formed in 2018 in response to “woke politicians and elitist activist groups”.
The groups media statements are largely supportive of Scott Morrison and the Coalition while attacking Labor and the Greens on issues including Climate Change.
Ms Seebohm said the conversation about how to make elite sport inclusive and fair for everyone was still being had but that people should be able to talk “freely”.
“I a hundred per cent want trans athletes in sport. It’s a hard conversation to have because we just don’t know where that fits in yet,” she said.
“Whether it is a female race, a male race and a transgender race we just don‘t know yet, that’s something that needs to be discussed and we need to work out how to do that so everyone feels safe and supported and the competition is fair at the end of the day.”
Drawing a distinction between community sport and top level competitions like the Olympics, Ms Seebohm pointed out that the margins between women’s and men’s competitions were large at the top.
She said the 8th placed male in her event, the 200m backstroke, would have won the women’s event by five or six seconds.
She said in the case of community-level sport the playing field was more level and may require a different approach.
South African swim coach Douglas Eager and Olympian and Asian Games medalist Sandeep Sejwal
To create structured athlete development pathways for swimming in the state and to help Indian athletes achieve success at the global level, the JSW Group on Thursday announced the appointments of seasoned South African swim coach Douglas Eager and Olympian and Asian Games medalist Sandeep Sejwal to lead the Odisha JSW Swimming High-Performance Centre (OJSHPC) based out of the Kalinga stadium here.
A unique partnership between the state and JSW, the establishment offers coaching programmes aimed at developing Indian swimmers capable of achieving FINA ‘A’ Qualification times for World Championships and the Olympics in 8-12 years. A total of 34 swimmers have already been identified as part of the HPC since its inception.
Coach Eager brings over two decades of coaching experience having trained top international swimmers including Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalist Lyndon Ferns.
“I am extremely excited about the swimming program in Bhubaneswar where we are developing swimmers from grassroots beginners to elite swimmers. With the coaching staff and facilities at our disposal, I am convinced that we will be producing national and international champions in the not too distant future,” he said.
After retiring from competitive swimming, Sejwal, an Arjuna awardee and 13-time national champion, took to full-time coaching and has trained some of the country’s top swimmers including Kenisha Gupta, Aanya Wala, and Srish Maulik among several others.
Expressing his excitement about taking up the new role, Sejwal said, “Having represented India in the pool at the international level, I am really looking forward to this new challenge of developing the next generation of Indian swimmers. It’s fantastic to see the Odisha Government and the JSW Group come together with such a comprehensive strategy for the growth of swimming in India, and I am confident that a structured program such as this will do wonders for the sport in our country.”
The OJSHPC will be part of a network of HPCs being set up under the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), India’s first privately-funded High-Performance Centre established by JSW and furthers the Group’s commitment to the state of Odisha and the holistic growth and development of Olympic disciplines in the country.
Speaking about the program, R Vineel Krishna, Sports Secretary, Odisha, said, “Swimming is among a priority sports for us and we aim to promote it both as a sport and also as an important life skill, right from grassroots to elite. We are very happy with the way JSW has engaged experts to take the sport of Swimming to a greater level, in Odisha. The HPC trainees are already making their mark at different competitions and we are confident our unique partnership with JSW will be instrumental in creating champions of tomorrow.”
Berlin, Toronto and Indianapolis have been confirmed as hosts for International Swimming Federation (FINA) Swimming World Cup stages in 2022.
The FINA said the events will be held across three consecutive weeks.
Berlin will host the opening event from October 21 to 23, with the German city continuing its association with staging World Cup events.
Berlin has held 17 World Cup legs since 2000.
Toronto will stage its first FINA Swimming World Cup event since 1988, with the Canadian city welcoming swimmers from October 28 to 30.
The series will conclude in Indianapolis with competition in the United States taking place from November 3 to 5.
Australian Olympic star Emma McKeon earned the women’s title last season.
South Africa’s Matthew Sates marked his emergence as a star last year, with the 18-year-old securing the men’s World Cup crown.
“I’m really looking forward to kicking off the FINA Swimming World Cup in Berlin and then continuing the tour to North America for stops in Toronto and Indianapolis,” Sates said.
The 2021 World Cup season was a breakthrough season for me; setting world junior records and winning the overall series title leaves me hungry for more.
“Having a compact, three-week tour of intense racing in cool cities after this summer’s FINA World Championships is an ideal format for quality racing.
“I know my competition will bring their best – and I will, too.”
FINA said the Swimming World Cup season fits on the calendar between the FINA World Championships in Budapest, which will be held from June 18 to July 3, and the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in December.
All three legs for the series will be qualifiers for the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m).
That event needs a new host, having been moved from Kazan in Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
More than 750 athletes from 40 countries are expected to compete in the World Cup series, which has an overall prize pool of $1.2 million (£970,000/€1.1 million).
FINA said a new bonus structure will provide financial incentives for standout performances as well.
Rikako Ikee leaps from the starting block in the women’s 50-meter freestyle final at the national swimming championships at Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, on May 1, 2022. (Kyodo)
Leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee wrapped up the national championships Sunday by claiming the 50-meter freestyle, her third win at the four-day meet at Yokohama International Swimming Pool.
The 21-year-old had already qualified for the Asian Games in September in Hangzhou, China, after winning the 50 butterfly and 100 freestyle. Her 24.78 seconds in the 50 free did not qualify her to make the games in the event but was enough for another win.
She finished fourth in the 100 butterfly in 58.42.
Ikee, the 2018 Asian Games MVP in Jakarta after winning six gold medals, was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2019 but made a remarkable return to compete at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
Lisa Curry has opened up about accidentally falling pregnant at age 18. Image: Getty
Aussie swimming legend Lisa Curry has revealed for the first time how she accidentally fell pregnant at age 18 and the heartbreaking experience of having to terminate.
Writing in her new autobiography ‘Lisa: A memoir – 60 years of life, love & loss’, Curry opens up on the tumultuous time when she was first making her name in Australian swimming.
Curry moved to Canberra in 1981 on a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport, leaving her then-boyfriend in Brisbane.
However her life was turned upside down when she realised her period was late.
“The thought filled me with dread – this was completely unplanned and I didn’t know what to do. I was still just 18 years old,” she writes.
“My mind was racing. I didn’t want to be pregnant!
“It was a mistake. I didn’t want a baby, I was too young, and I wanted to keep swimming. What was I going to do?”
Lisa Curry speaks to the media ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Curry eventually told AIS boss Don Talbot, who helped her arrange a termination.
The swimming champion said she felt she had no other choice at the time.
“For someone who loves and adores babies so much, I look back on this decision now with surprise. But I was very young,” she writes.
“I wanted to swim, and there seemed to be no other option for me.
“I wasn’t upset. I didn’t think it was wrong. But I didn’t tell anybody about it. I don’t think I even told my friends. I’m not even sure my mum ever knew.”
The 59-year-old broke up with her boyfriend soon after, but holds no regrets.
“I’m not proud of this story, but I don’t regret it either,” she said.
“I didn’t want to be a mum at 18. I wasn’t equipped for it. It wasn’t planned and it wasn’t meant to be.”
In her new autobiography, Curry opens up about her heartbreaking final moments with Jaimi.
Curry and former husband Grant Kenny rushed to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital after receiving a call from their daughter that she was vomiting blood.
They were initially told that Jaimi was in a stable condition and left the hospital, but were told by doctors to come back just 40 minutes later.
Lisa Curry with daughter Jaimi and former husband Grant Kenny. Image: Getty
“I ran to her and called softly, ‘Jaimi, Jaimi, it’s Mum. Open your eyes, baby, open your eyes,” Curry writes.
“Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.’ But there was no response, there was just nothing. I was numb.”
Jaimi’s kidneys then shut down and she died that night.
“Hearing those words, I was sobbing. ‘No, no, no, I’m not ready!’ Even though we’d known for years this time would come, we didn’t want it to be real,” Curry said.
Curry rose to prominence as part of the relay team that won silver at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton.
At the 1982 Games in Brisbane she won three gold medals and a bronze, following that up at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland with four gold medals.
She also competed for Australia at the Olympics in 1980, 1984 and 1992.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach speaks to the media as he visits the Olympic Agora exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, July 30, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach praised Brisbane 2032 Games organisers on Sunday for a “wonderful start” in planning for the multi-sport event after meeting with host delegates.
Brisbane’s organising committee held its first board meeting last week after finalising the 20-member board in early April.
Australian media said the organising committee had missed an IOC deadline for its first board meeting months ago but Bach was unfazed by the delay.
“We are not only satisfied, we are impressed and happy and we are off to a really wonderful start,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“We are extremely impressed by the quality of the board of the organising committee, by the diversity and the focus which is put on the athletes and the inclusivity of having two indigenous people on the board.”
Bach said the IOC’s first meeting with Brisbane organisers was like a “honeymoon”.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach speaks to the media as he visits the Olympic Agora exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, July 30, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool
SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) – International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach praised Brisbane 2032 Games organisers on Sunday for a “wonderful start” in planning for the multi-sport event after meeting with host delegates.
Brisbane’s organising committee held its first board meeting last week after finalising the 20-member board in early April.
Australian media said the organising committee had missed an IOC deadline for its first board meeting months ago but Bach was unfazed by the delay.
“We are not only satisfied, we are impressed and happy and we are off to a really wonderful start,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“We are extremely impressed by the quality of the board of the organising committee, by the diversity and the focus which is put on the athletes and the inclusivity of having two indigenous people on the board.”
Bach said the IOC’s first meeting with Brisbane organisers was like a “honeymoon”.
“This honeymoon will not last forever, as we know by experience,” he added.
“Like every marriage it will have its ups and downs, but mutual respect and enthusiasm will make sure we overcome some unexpected obstacles.”
Bach and IOC officials will visit Pacific nations over the next week before heading to Brisbane.
The IOC confirmed Brisbane as 2032 host at last year’s Tokyo Games.
Brisbane 2032 will be Australia’s third Olympics after the 2000 Sydney Games and the Melbourne event in 1956.
