Trials arrived well before Tokyo test
BREASTSTROKER Jenna Strauch’s moment has come.
The Bond University swimmer will compete at the Australian Olympic Trials in Adelaide on Saturday, with a place at the Tokyo Games on the line.
The stakes couldn’t be higher, but rather than be weighed down by the pressure, Strauch is revelling in her date with destiny.
“This is the best bit,”
Strauch said. “We train so hard and it is time to enjoy our favourite part – the racing.
“The intensity for an Olympic Trials is probably a little higher than some of our other meets but you need to stay calm and be relaxed.
“I’ve done everything I possibly can. I’ve done the hard work, so I’m going to go in and enjoy the experience.”
Strauch will compete in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events alongside
Bond’s other Olympic hopefuls, Alex Graham, Elijah Winnington, Maddy Gough, Laura Taylor and Minna Atherton.
The 24-year-old has waited her whole life for this moment and had an incredible journey to get to this point.
The Georgina Hope Rinehart Swimming Excellence Scholarship student was on the cusp of senior national selection as a 15-year-old in 2013 before her life was turned upside down.
She was in and out of hospital for two years, stuck down by an unknown illness that forced her out of the pool.
“I didn’t want it to define my swimming career or me as a person,” she said.
“Everyone in swimming has something.
“Some people get injured, I got sick and those are the cards I was dealt.
“There were plenty of tough times and it would certainly have been easier to give
it away. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a child and it would be very special to make the Olympics.
“After coming through my journey, anything from here on is a bonus.
“I’ve done so much in my career already and I’m proud of what I have already achieved.
“There’s always adversity and things that don’t go to plan in any Olympics.
“There are sacrifices but it is a choice, it’s a way of life.”