Blue Mountains Life – August-September 2019

PEOPLE

OUR VERY OWN

Golden Girl

Park’sSandyFreemancompetedin the

pecialOlympicWorldGamesin March

hisyear- andbroughthomegold!

HavingcompetedatGreecein 2011

andLosAngelesin 2015,Sandy’sa

prowhenit comestoqualifyingand

competingandis inspiringeveryone

aroundhertonevergiveup.

her20s,Sandyhasbeentrainingsince

justfouryearsoldwhenshewentalong

inglessonswithheryoungersister

whowasa keenswimmer.“I gaveit a shotand

lovedit!”shesaysandexplainsthatshestarted

swimmingatWindsor’sOasisSwimmingPool

andhasbeentrainingthereeversince.

InMarch2019,SandytravelledtoAbuDhabi,

UnitedArabEmiratesalongwithover 100 ofher

teammatestocompeteintheSpecialOlympic

WorldGames,intheswimmingevents.

Whenwecaughtuptotalkabouthowshe

went,shewasverycasualaboutthefactthat

sheplacedin everysingleoneofherevents.“I

gotgoldin my 1600 openwater,”Sandysaysand

explainsthatshewastheonlyAustralianfemale

in therace.“I gotsilverin my4 x 100medley

relay.I wasdoingthebackstrokelengthin that

one.”Sandyalsocame3rdin the800mfreestyle.

SpecialOlympicsAustraliaChiefExecutive

OfficerCoreneStrausssays“Itis a tremendous

honourforourathletesanda culminationof

manyyearsofeffortandachievementfrom

them,theirfamiliesandtheircoachesto

representAustraliaatthelargestsportsand

humanitarianeventintheworldduring2019.”

Anddespitealltheexcitementaroundthe

poolandthetimespentonthepodium,Sandy’s

favouritemomentinAbuDhabiwastheday

spentatthebeach.“ItwastheonlytimeI was

awayfromthepool,”shesays.“Prettymuch

everydaywe’dgetupearlygetreadyandgo

tothepoolstotrainandtocompete.”Rather

thansettingoutwithgranddreams,Sandy

approachedtheGameswitha goalto“justsee

howwellI coulddo,”shesays.“Mymumanddad

wentoverwithmebutI hadeveryone’ssupport

backhome.”Locals,friendsandfamilywere

excitedtocongratulateheronherreturnand

wereoverjoyedwithherresults.

Sandygraduatedfromhighschoolat

Windsor’sBedePoldingin 2014 andnowrides

herbiketothepoolfortraining.“It’sprettymuch

abouttheexerciseandkeepingfit,”shesays.

“I’mpassionateaboutfitness.”Theswimming

scenehasbecomeSandy’smainsourceof

socialisationaswell.“Allofmyfriends are from

swimming,”shesaysandadds,“And then there

aremygamingfriends!I playLegend of Zelda

andPokemon,”sheaddswitha laugh.

Butinallseriousness,therehavebeen many

peoplesupportingSandyandshe’skeen to give

thankswhereit’sdue.

“I wouldliketothankStevePayne for helping

meintheopenwater,”shesaysofher Penrith

basedcoach.“Hetoldmetokeepkicking and

I rememberedthatduringtherace- just keep

kicking- likeinFindingNemo!”

Asa memberoftheNepeanAquatic Centre

SwimclubinPenrith,Stevehasbeen training

Sandyinopenwaterfor3 years.“She’s very

quietlytenacious,”hesaysofSandy. “She knows

exactlywhatshewantstodoandgoes out and

doesit anddoesn’tmakea fussabout it. She’s

alwayshappyandoutgoingandalways been

veryoptimisticaboutwhatshe’sdoing. I always

knewthatshe’dgiveit 100%andshe did. Every

singlesessionwithherthatI didpreparing to

gooverseasshegave100%everytime. She’s

gotalltheattributesthatyouneedfor open

waterswimming.You’vegottojustkeep going

andbelievethatyou’redoingyourbest and

thatyou’regoingtogetthatresultsthat you’re

chasing.”

Steverecallshowoftenpeoplewould

approachhimtoaskabouthowSandy was

goinginpreparationfortheGames.“Two weeks

beforeshewentpeoplewouldaskme how she

wasgoingtogototheGamesandI said - she

willwin.Andsureenough,shecame away with a

goldmedal,”hesays.“I’msoproud.Very proud.”

Andit seemsthatmanypeoplefeel the same

way.CongratulationsSandy!bml

MEETING A CHALLENGE HEAD-ON IS

NO PROBLEM FOR THIS OLYMPIC STAR.

STORYBYJONILEIMGRUBER IMAGESPECIALOLYMPICSAUSTRALIA

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