Bad break will not stop Harris
Boxer aims for Games
WATCHING her dream of competing at last year’s Tokyo Olympics disappear was hard enough for Geelong boxer Kristy Harris.
But an unexpected blow in August turned her training timetable for the Games — rescheduled for this year — on its head.
“I fell down the stairs and broke two bones in my leg and dislocated my ankle, so that was another challenge I had to put up with (along with COVID),” Harris said.
“But as soon as I could I was in the gym lifting weights and I had great support from the VIS and my physio in Geelong, Luke Johnson.
“I really enjoy training so I didn’t lose motivation through COVID, although it was a bit hard at the start. I still kept things ticking along as I would go nuts without training.
“I didn’t train boxing as much but I did other things to keep my conditioning. I have a good set up in my shed at home and I get a lot of support from the Victorian Institute of Sport.”
Harris, who will be one of many Geelong athletes aiming to book a flight to Japan in July, had the opportunity to guarantee her place in the Australian team last year.
Despite a tough draw that pitted her against the top seed at the Asian qualifiers, Taiwan’s Huang Hsiao-wen, she lost only by a points decision, meaning she will now go to France — depending on how Europe is faring with COVID — in June.
“You have two chances to qualify and I didn’t win my fight at the Asia/ Oceania tournament earlier in the year,” she said.
“I drew the No.1 seed and lost to her, so my next and last chance to qualify is the world qualifier. All we have been told is that it is happening, there are no exact dates set yet, but as far as we know it is in June in France.”
It will be a whirlwind year for Harris, who missed a place in the Aussie squad for Rio in 2016 but won a bronze at the world championships two years later.
She says there will be less international travel than she has become accustomed to, with national teams staying closer to home in 2021, but knows the rewards will be as sweet if she can do what is required to be on the plane to Tokyo.
“It all kicks off in January. We have a team camp in Canberra at the Australian Institute of Sport run by head coach Kevin Smith,” Harris said.
“That will basically be a bit of a catch up and chance to plan for the rest of the year up until the Olympics.
“From there we will be doing interstate camps. Usually we go overseas to prepare for major tournaments but it is going to be too expensive, too hard and too much of a risk to be travelling overseas.
“So that will be different, I have normally travelled overseas multiple times a year, but we just have to work with what we have got and I think it will mainly be in Queensland.
“I then have the Olympic and world qualifier in June in France given everything is going well, and then the Olympics is the month after, so it will be all happening.”