Sam Thompson lives a whole bunch of kilometres from the coast, however that does not cease her waking up at 4am each morning to coach for open water swimming.
She entered her first ocean race in Sydney in 2022, 5 hours away from her dwelling in Wellington, in central west NSW.
Since then, the 18-year-old has competed at state and nationwide ranges, scheduling hours of coaching round highschool.
However she nearly walked away from her very first race.
Earlier than opponents acquired within the water, an announcement came to visit the loudspeaker warning them to not put their toes down within the shallow water as a result of there have been stingrays.
“I used to be like, ‘No, thanks, I actually do not need to do this,’ and my coach was like, ‘You are right here, get within the water,'” Thompson stated.
It will take one other two races for her to search out her affinity with the game.
“I did not fall in love with it instantly, I used to be a bit nervous — it was very uncomfortable,” she stated.
“[The team] all acquired in collectively, we had been all going to swim collectively, I acquired about 5 strokes in and I misplaced everybody … I began panicking.
“I do not know why I stored doing it after that.”
It was a 5-kilometre race additional down the observe that modified Thompson’s perspective.
“I completed the primary lap and my shoulders had been hurting however … I embraced the water and the ache,” she stated.
“It was like a psychological block lifted away and I used to be like, ‘Oh that is actually enjoyable, I am having fun with this now.'”
A number of exhausting work
Final month, Thompson travelled to Busselton in south west WA for the Australian Open Water Championships, the place she positioned 14th in her age group within the 10km race and nineteenth within the 5km race.
Whereas some open water competitions are held in rivers and lakes, most races are within the ocean, and Thompson discovered she was typically the one competitor who was not from a coastal space.
“It is all main cities, coastal cities — you by no means get anyone that is from central areas so it’s kind of exhausting, I really feel like I am a bit not noted,” she stated.
“The primary open water golf equipment, they go down and swim within the precise ocean or in a regatta centre … to allow them to get their abilities up going across the buoys and really swimming towards the present.”
To make up for her distance from the ocean, Thompson places in additional hours of coaching, waking up at 4am each morning to swim for an hour and a half earlier than college.
She has unfold her yr 12 research out throughout two years, which means she solely has a couple of courses every day earlier than heading again to the pool for one more two hours of coaching within the afternoon.
“Within the pool, it is lots simpler — you do not have currents, you do not have waves, you do not have fish,” she stated.
“I goal to do additional within the pool than I’ll race.
“So to coach for a 5km, we’ll be knocking out 7km as an goal for it.”
Assist community a necessity
By way of the hours of coaching, Thompson stated the factor that stored her going was a robust help community, made up of her household, mates and coach.
“Once I’m away competing it is very nice having that supportive background to maintain me going,” she stated.
“I do not assume I might do it with none of them, particularly my dad and mom.”
She inspired others who had been curious about an unconventional sport to provide it a go.
“Discover a good help system and check out your hardest, simply give it your all,” she stated.
“There’s nothing stopping you, aside from your self.”
Thompson’s subsequent objective is to make it into the highest 10 at subsequent yr’s nationwide competitors.
However she can be blissful merely to push her limits.
“General, I form of simply need to see how far I can go attempting my finest — if I get on an Australian group, that is superb — greater than I might ever dream of,” she stated.
“But additionally, if essentially the most I make is the NSW group, then that is so far as I acquired and so long as I attempted my hardest, I am blissful.”
