Journey of an Olympian. Chapter 11

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Chapter Eleven: Sydney 2000 Olympic Team selections

Straight after the Oceania Championships, I came down with tonsillitis and had to take a few days off training and rest up with a strong course of antibiotics. I was trying to remain positive but I hated missing training and when I did return, my training suffered because I was weak. I couldn’t help worrying a little about the Olympic Trials which were only weeks away. I started to feel better the week before the Trials, but then the day before the competition I woke up with white lumps on the back of my throat again. I was so upset. I went straight to the doctor and got an injection of penicillin (after making sure this was not on the list of banned substances). My doctor assured me I would be better the next day. I decided not to tell Luke in case he pulled me out of the Trials. I was optimistic that I could still be selected on the team even if I didn’t lift at the Trials because my results during the other qualifying competitions were so consistent and I was now ranked 2nd overall in Australia, behind Michelle. But I really wanted to lift at the Trials, to make sure. Plus, this was the final and biggest qualifying event we had been building up for and I was excited to be a part of it. I figured I should be able to summon up some internal fortitude on the day to pull out a decent enough total to be selected – I only had to get through 6 lifts on the platform.

On June 11th the Olympic Selection Trials arrived. The event was being held at the State Sports Centre at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. There was a bigger audience than usual and at lot of media present, including television cameras, mainly from Channel 7, which would be broadcasting the main Olympic event later that year. Luke had previously organised for a few of the NSW lifters to train at this venue once a week in the lead up, so the venue would feel familiar. However, the warm up room felt busier than usual – eleven girls had qualified. Only four could be selected.

Even though I knew I was ranked 2nd overall, I certainly wasn’t taking anything for granted. Anything could happen on the day so the pressure was still on. Whilst the selection was based on our performances over 4 competitions: 1999 National’s, 1999 World’s, 2000 Oceania’s and the Trials, the Trials were considered as the most important of the four. Stuff up here and it could jeopardise and overtake all the other good results. I tried to put my illness out of my mind, stay positive and summon up everything inside of me for one day to perform well.

2000 Olympic Trials
2000 Olympic Trials

I was competing back at 58kg, weighed in fine and then warmed up ok for the Snatch. My final snatch ended up a bit of a struggle but I managed to get it successfully, breaking an Australian and Oceania record. When it came to warm up for the Clean & Jerks I started to feel myself slipping. My legs felt weak  and I started to feel ‘flat’. The Clean & Jerk is more of a strength lift than the Snatch and I knew I was struggling. I really tried to push through but ended up performing just 2.5kg below my best in the Total. I was hoping this would still be good enough for selection, but it was a competition against the other girls too, some of whom had done pretty well.

2000 Olympic Trials

We all sat in a room together afterwards, waiting patiently and nervously, while the selectors had a meeting to decide on the names that would be nominated to the Australian Olympic Committee for selection on the 2000 Olympic Team. After what seemed an eternity, the selectors came in the room and started making the announcements. It was a bit of a blur but I heard my name called out. On the inside I was jumping up and down ecstatically, but on the outside I tried not to make a big display because I knew how bad the other unsuccessful girls would be feeling. Michelle was selected, as expected; I was genuinely happy to hear Meagan’s name called out; Amanda Phillips was also selected, to the surprise of some, but she deserved it, having pulled off an awesome performance having dropped down a weight division to 63kg.

I did not celebrate after getting selected, there was no time for this as I knew I still had a huge job ahead of me. While many people thought being selected on the Olympic Team was an achievement in itself, in my mind, the pressure was still on as I felt I had to do well to justify my selection.

Coming up next – Chapter 12: Getting down to business