CLUB/ASSOCIATION: Illawarra Triathlon Club Why did you apply for an IAS scholarship? To provide a gateway to the next level of triathlon and work to become an overall better athlete. Who’s your favourite professional athlete and why? Probably Sally Pearson. Against all odds she’s never ceased to perform to the best of her ability and I think it’s amazing. If you weren’t playing this sport, what would you be doing and why? I would be doing athletics, cross country and swimming, but also just continuing with school and social activities such as drama and youth group. How would you describe yourself in one sentence? Energetic, friendly, keen to learn and explore new things. What are your plans beyond school? Not completely sure yet. I know I will continue my sport to some level past graduation, but career wise I still haven’t decided. If you could live anywhere in the world, it would be? After travelling the entire country in 2013 I decided I would still live in Australia, but on the west coast in Exmouth. The beaches are so blue and the landscape is so rugged and beautiful. You don’t realise how many amazing things are actually within Australia until you have fully explored it. What do you do in your free time? I have just recently begun learning guitar, which I really enjoy as I can sing along and play by myself or with friends, learning new songs that come along and take my fancy. I love a good novel, but I also enjoy hanging with friends, going to the beach, surfing and just generally relaxing when I can. What is your favourite subject at school? I’ve always enjoyed so many things at school, but probably the PDHPE classes take my interest the most, especially the coaching, nutritional and physicality side of it. What is your greatest achievement in your sport so far? Probably the first time I made the national athletics team in the 3000-metre event. I’d never dreamed of being able to compete at such a high level when I started, so it was super-exciting. I ended up getting a PB and qualifying for the next year’s nationals as well! When did you start playing your sport and how did you get started? I’ve always been involved in an element of sport throughout my life. I have swum from a young age to help with my asthma, but also for general fitness. At 12 I took an interest in running, both athletics and cross country, which I have participated in competitively ever since. These two skills came together when I made the decision to try a triathlon around the start of year 7. Cycling came fairly naturally to me … To further my experience I joined the Illawarra Triathlon Club and competed in various races.
