Rising star Olivia Watmore has continued her swimming success claiming gold in the 50m breaststroke and silver in the 100 at the NSW all-schools carnival at Homebush last week.
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The dedicated swimmer and year 12 student at Dubbo College is part of Anthony Chapman’s Orana Aquatic squad.
And despite all her work and success, the results at the all-schools carnival came as somewhat of a surprise.
I wasn’t really expecting to do that well.
- Olivia Watmore
“I wasn’t really expecting to do that well because it was quite difficult to keep up motivation after the Australian Open Championships in Brisbane, where I placed 13th in the 50m breaststroke,” Watmore said.
“And despite winning the gold and silver at last week’s State all-schools, the times were below my personal bests – by one second in the 50 and two seconds in the 100.”
Watmore has been swimming competitively for some years, initially undertaking her own training regime with mother Lisa by her side.
Lisa Watmore continues to play a critical role in her daughter’s swimming regime, focusing in particular on the more technical aspects of training including diving off the block and timing underwater.
Her recent gold and silver have qualified Watmore for the Pacific International Schools Games to be staged in December on the Gold Coast and continues to make her one of the most promising young athletes in Dubbo.
Last year the seasoned breaststroker also represented NSW at the all-schools nationals when it was in Darwin, but in 2017 that event is being replaced by the Schools Games.
Watmore will now tackle a number of short-course events, something she is also expected to do well in, but as an accomplished student she is now focusing more fully on her Higher School Certificate.
The young talent is planning on a future career in occupational therapy and is currently assessing tertiary education opportunities at Bond, Newcastle and Sydney-based universities, as well as a tempting offer to train under scholarship with the US team in Amercia.
“It’s all about finding the right balance this year because I think it’s important to ensure I have career options outside of swimming,” Watmore said.
“I really like the idea of occupational therapy because there are so many alternatives in this career path,” she said when speaking about her future.
“I am hoping I may be able to pick up a swimming scholarship to attend university and that should really help to cement my plans.”
