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Speaker 1: Nicki Ares is the first woman to win a Paralympic

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Speaker 1: rowing gold medal for Australia, but it was rugby where

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Speaker 1: her love for sport truly started, transitioning from league to

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Speaker 1: union growing up when she was told she could no

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Speaker 1: longer play with the boys, and that's where Nicki spent

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Speaker 1: her twenties training to become a walleraroo before March twenty sixteen,

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Speaker 1: which she describes as the moment that completely changed her life.

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Speaker 2: Attackle while playing rugby.

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Speaker 1: Union led to a severe knee dislocation where she underwent

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Speaker 1: sixteen operations in just nine months in order to save

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Speaker 1: her leg.

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Speaker 2: But this moment was the opening of.

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Speaker 1: A new chapter in Nicki's life and career. Only eight

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Speaker 1: years later, she was standing on the podium at the

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Speaker 1: Paris twenty twenty four Paralympic Games with a gold medal

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Speaker 1: around her neck, spurred on by the mantrack to only

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Speaker 1: control what you can control. Welcome back to the Female

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Speaker 1: Athlete Project and thanks for pressing play. On today's episode.

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Speaker 1: This week, Chloe sits down with the first Australian woman

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Speaker 1: to win a Paralympic rowing gold medal, Nikky Airs. Nikki

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Speaker 1: shares her journey to finding and then refinding her identity

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Speaker 1: as an athlete while also building her identity as a midwife, nurse,

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Speaker 1: and vocal advocate for the Quick community.

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Speaker 2: We hope you enjoyed this episode.

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Speaker 3: Nicky Airs, Welcome to the Female Athlete Project.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for having me, Chloe. I'm super excited to be here.

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Speaker 3: I'm really looking forward to this chat. Just before we

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Speaker 3: started recording, word chatting about Bluey. Can we talk about

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Speaker 3: this because you don't have a kid yet, and I

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Speaker 3: have a kid and I've been desperately hanging on until

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Speaker 3: it's my time. But you have Bluey as like a solution.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Blue is my savior, really me separating me in

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Speaker 2: my head when I can't switch it off. Yeah, so

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Speaker 2: Blue love it. I have six nieces and nephews and

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Speaker 2: so it's just on the house on the TV constantly.

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Speaker 2: But you know when I've been through a pretty big

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Speaker 2: true crime phase is you know there's been times when Jed,

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Speaker 2: who's my double's part, has just turned around and said, mate,

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Speaker 2: you need a break. Go watch them Blue all those nights,

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Speaker 2: just when the mind's just running wild and you just

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Speaker 2: can't turn it off, or coming out to big meats

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Speaker 2: and things like that. It was always my release and

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Speaker 2: my way to just really switch off, like Bluey was

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Speaker 2: my mindfulness and love it. Grand Him of Bill is

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Speaker 2: the best episode, my favorite, but you can't go past

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Speaker 2: the Cricket episode as well. That's a really really good show.

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Speaker 2: So you've got a lot to look forward to.

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Speaker 3: Wait, I can't wait. I can't wait for my Bluetira

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Speaker 3: Okay to kick us off. Can you take me back

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Speaker 3: to Nicky as a little kid and describe what you

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Speaker 3: were like?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, nick he's a little kid. NICKI took a little

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Speaker 2: while to find her place. NICKI growing up. I'm on

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Speaker 2: a four so I've got two brothers and a sister.

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Speaker 2: We're a pretty big sporting family. But I took a

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Speaker 2: long time to find where I belong. I was a

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Speaker 2: little quiet kid, sat at home. While you know, my

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Speaker 2: brothers and sisters usually went outside swimming doing all that,

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Speaker 2: I'd stayed home pulling things, electronic things apart, and just

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Speaker 2: you know, I really my biggest fear growing up was failure.

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Speaker 2: I was so afraid of failing and people making fun

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Speaker 2: of that and making fun of me. You know, I

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Speaker 2: never felt like I was good enough at things. And

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Speaker 2: then it wasn't until I started playing rugby league when

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Speaker 2: I was a little girl. I think I was about

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Speaker 2: nine or ten when I got into it, and that

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Speaker 2: was the first time I really felt like I belonged

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Speaker 2: and I had a place and it didn't matter to

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Speaker 2: my teammates. I was the only girl on that team,

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Speaker 2: and it didn't matter like I was just you know,

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Speaker 2: back then, it was just one of the guys on

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Speaker 2: the team, and it's where I belonged. And I was

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Speaker 2: pretty good too, love, so that helped, and that was like,

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Speaker 2: really just helped me kind of find find a place

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Speaker 2: where I could be me and I felt like I belonged,

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Speaker 2: and that just blossomed into the sporting career that I

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Speaker 2: had and you know, the athlete in the person that

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Speaker 2: I became today, you know, and I was still for

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Speaker 2: so long a very shy kid like people today when

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Speaker 2: I tell him, I was actually quite shy, like no

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Speaker 2: one believes it. So, yeah, sport definitely helped me find

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Speaker 2: who I am and come out of my shell over

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Speaker 2: the years.

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Speaker 3: I'm interested in that failure thing. Was the that it

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Speaker 3: happened as a kid that kind of sticks with you

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Speaker 3: on that or was it just part of the process.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, a bit of everything. But for me, and you know,

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Speaker 2: I've said this to Mum and my family multiple times,

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Speaker 2: is what I always remember growing up. It's this fridge

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Speaker 2: magnet and it's still on the fridge at home, and

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Speaker 2: it's and it really just was my childhood growing up.

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Speaker 2: And it says, when I'm wrong, no one remembers, but

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Speaker 2: when I'm right, no one forgets. And that was really

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Speaker 2: what I felt like my life was a lot growing up.

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Speaker 2: You know, whenever I was wrong, everyone would always make

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Speaker 2: sure that I knew I was wrong, and you know,

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Speaker 2: I really kind of seeked validation a lot. As a kid.

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Speaker 2: I had a bit more pressure I felt, And I

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Speaker 2: don't know if I put it on myself or it

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Speaker 2: was just I was a bit more academic than my siblings.

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Speaker 2: I was a bit more competitive, a little bit more driven,

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Speaker 2: So I think there was a little bit more pressure

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Speaker 2: for me to do a little bit better. I don't

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Speaker 2: know if Mum and Dad saw a bit more in me,

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Speaker 2: and that was their worry way of encouraging me. And

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Speaker 2: that's just kind of how I developed into who I am.

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Speaker 2: But then, yeah, as I said, like my biggest theor

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Speaker 2: was like standing up in front of a class and

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Speaker 2: answering question and getting it wrong and being laughed at,

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Speaker 2: And so I would not do those things. I wouldn't

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Speaker 2: put myself out there. I think that was a big

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Speaker 2: reason as to why I was so shy for so long,

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Speaker 2: And it took me a very long time to really

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Speaker 2: learn to get over that confidence and really embrace who

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Speaker 2: I was and be okay with being me and that

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Speaker 2: I am good enough and that it's okay to be

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Speaker 2: wrong and it's okay to fail. You know, that's how

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Speaker 2: we learn things and become great humans.

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Speaker 3: Interested for parents of kids who show potential, you know

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Speaker 3: what I mean, Like, like you said, the kid that

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Speaker 3: looks like you're driven and competitive and determined and could

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Speaker 3: be successful in it. Like if you were a parent

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Speaker 3: in those shoes, how would you address something like that?

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Speaker 2: I think, like it's just just embracing, like encourage them

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Speaker 2: finding out what they want to do. I think finding

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Speaker 2: out what their goals are would be probably the first step.

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Speaker 2: And like, cause you can identify that someone's really good

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Speaker 2: at things, but that doesn't mean they necessarily love it.

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Speaker 2: For me, I did love sport, you know. It was

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Speaker 2: the one place where I felt like I belonged, and

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Speaker 2: I like was me with that It didn't matter that

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Speaker 2: I was female with the guys. You know, back then

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Speaker 2: I didn't know I was gay as well, so but

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Speaker 2: later on in life that did become a sport, part

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Speaker 2: of sport. So for parents navigating it, it's kind of

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Speaker 2: like it's not putting that pressure, and like if you

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Speaker 2: identify talent, it's kind of having that conversation with them

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Speaker 2: and being hey, like, what do you want to do

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Speaker 2: with this? Like do you think you have talent? Where

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Speaker 2: you can see you have talent, but what do you

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Speaker 2: want to do where you can go and having that

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Speaker 2: discussion about potential avenues and what that might look for

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Speaker 2: look like for them and potentially that support as well.

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Speaker 2: And I think that's a big part of it, is

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Speaker 2: just having those conversations and opening up so instead of

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Speaker 2: just being a kid that you know, you know you

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Speaker 2: have potential and you just feel like you've got to

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Speaker 2: do better. And the way you get that validation is

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Speaker 2: by always doing better and making sure that you do

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Speaker 2: the best that you can and you know, if you

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Speaker 2: come second, just not thinking oh that's not good enough,

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Speaker 2: being actually I came second, and that was really really

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Speaker 2: good but for me, I want to do better and

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Speaker 2: this is how I'm going to do it. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: I think a lot of it's around that conversation with

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Speaker 2: the kid with the kids.

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Speaker 3: So you get to rugby league, you're playing with the boys,

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Speaker 3: and you kind of just start to find yourself. Yeah

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Speaker 3: that's awesome.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it was great. The boys were great. It

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Speaker 2: was fun, it was you know, it was awesome. Like

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Speaker 2: I grew up my dad played rugby league, my brother

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Speaker 2: and my eldest brother, my sister, so it was only

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Speaker 2: natural I followed it. My little brother played it, like

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Speaker 2: my two brothers are still playing even though that their

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Speaker 2: oldest brother's body is giving up on him. But it

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Speaker 2: was just like that what I wanted to do to

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Speaker 2: belong and it helped that I was good at it.

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Speaker 2: But it was fun. But then when I turned twelve,

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Speaker 2: because I was on the fast South coast, you know,

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Speaker 2: it was Kezzy Apps and I were only two girls,

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Speaker 2: of course.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was Biger yeah at home bigger.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. So we've used to play each other in light

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Speaker 2: under twelves and stuff growing up, and so there was

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Speaker 2: no female team back then, you know, there wasn't even

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Speaker 2: a female team to look up to so had to

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Speaker 2: stop playing unfortunately, and then like kind of that dream

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Speaker 2: of in that sense belonging that community was just like

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Speaker 2: absolutely crush, just purely because the fact I was female

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Speaker 2: and there was no female teams around. So that was

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Speaker 2: like really hard as a kid at that age to

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Speaker 2: have to come to terms with that.

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Speaker 3: And what did that next phase then look quite once

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Speaker 3: that was taken away?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I got into reffing. Okay, yeah, yeah, so I

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Speaker 2: did reffing. I reffed around the local rugby league circuit

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Speaker 2: with that, and I really enjoyed that staying involved and

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Speaker 2: that was a bit of cash as well for a

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Speaker 2: little kid. Yeah, not totally. And then we I think

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Speaker 2: when I was about fifteen, we got a teacher to

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Speaker 2: our school in my high school and he was a

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Speaker 2: rugby mad teacher and he started up her school girls

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Speaker 2: rugby union team and so I was like, hey, this

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Speaker 2: is pretty much like footy contact. There's a ball, there's

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Speaker 2: a bunch of chicks, let out some anger like why not?

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Speaker 2: And yeah, and that took off, Like we got a

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Speaker 2: lot of teams around on the South Coast doing that

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Speaker 2: was pretty good, and I think I was fifteen sixteen

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Speaker 2: captaining this girl the girl girls' school team as well,

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Speaker 2: Like my sister was playing and all my friends were

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Speaker 2: playing then, so that was pretty good. And then a friend,

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Speaker 2: a now good friend from Canberra contacted the South Coast

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Speaker 2: and we're like, hey, we're looking for players, and Megan

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Speaker 2: and my sister and I we were like, yeah, cool,

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Speaker 2: we'll play. So then we started traveling twice a week

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Speaker 2: while at school, So Thursdays we'd finished school early, Mum

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Speaker 2: would drive us to Canberra we'd trained go home, so

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Speaker 2: it was a two and a half three hour trip

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Speaker 2: each way, and then we'd go up again on Saturdays

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Speaker 2: for the games to play. And then I was also

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Speaker 2: starting out to play for the Act school Girls at

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Speaker 2: that time as well, so there was like a lot

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Speaker 2: happening at once. But it was awesome again, like I

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Speaker 2: just had this community where I belonged and had sport

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Speaker 2: and just had this really cool place just to be

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Speaker 2: who I was and be an athlete and figure life out.

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Speaker 3: How did you keep up with school work if you

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Speaker 3: were doing that troop and training.

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Speaker 2: I remember being too hard to be honest, like, yeah,

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Speaker 2: it was it was fine, Like Mum was really supported,

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Speaker 2: the school was pretty supportive as well, so, and I

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Speaker 2: like I was I was good. I wasn't the smartest

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Speaker 2: kid at school, but I did well enough to keep

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Speaker 2: my grades up and do well. So yeah, it was

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Speaker 2: a balance. And it's like we sport, you enjoy it,

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Speaker 2: so you know you've got to do what you need

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Speaker 2: to while you're at school so you can continue doing that.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, I don't remember it being too much of

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Speaker 2: a struggle at all.

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Speaker 3: I almost found that, like I reckon, I was almost

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Speaker 3: better with school stuff when my sport was busy. You

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Speaker 3: kind of just find a way. You've just got this

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Speaker 3: small window that you have to operate in and you

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Speaker 3: just got to get it done.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely, And you know it's like it's what you've

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Speaker 2: got to do so you can do what you enjoy

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Speaker 2: the most. It's like, you know, you might enjoy school,

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Speaker 2: be good at it, but what you enjoy most is

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Speaker 2: the sport. So it's like, well, this is what I

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Speaker 2: have to do to play with sport, you know. So

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Speaker 2: it was just a means to the end and do

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Speaker 2: whatever I could to be able to put those footy

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Speaker 2: boots on and you know the red and white jersey

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Speaker 2: back then for the Vikings as well, So yeah.

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Speaker 3: That's awesome. And when did Brumbies come into the picture

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Speaker 3: because super w wasn't around back then.

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Speaker 2: No, it definitely wasn't back then. So Brumbies was as

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Speaker 2: soon as I turned eighteen, because even when I was

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Speaker 2: sixteen there were Brumbies comps and the ballery is around,

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Speaker 2: but they wouldn't let me play. That was very unfortunate.

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Speaker 2: So when I turned eighteen, so I think that was

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Speaker 2: two thousand and nine, was my very first Snatch Nationals

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Speaker 2: up at Tellerbudjera in Queensland, and that was like one

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Speaker 2: of my first experiences as well, just wearing the Brumbies

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Speaker 2: and just being we thought like the cheeks you play

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Speaker 2: with in your role models that you look up to,

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Speaker 2: and you know, actually getting told by the coach that

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Speaker 2: you were pretty good too was quite quite good. And

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Speaker 2: then you know, back then you always had a few

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Speaker 2: beers after the end of the tournament. So being a

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Speaker 2: young eighteen year old and the unchid as well. I

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Speaker 2: was studying my nursing then, so it was good fun. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: So about two thousand and nine, when I turned eighteen

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Speaker 2: was the first time for Brumbies and then really every

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Speaker 2: year until I decided to take a break. I was

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Speaker 2: playing representative footy and.

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Speaker 3: When did nursing come into the picture?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so I moved to Canberra. So I graduated high

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Speaker 2: school in two thousand and eight. So two thousand and

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Speaker 2: nine I went to Canberra and study. It started my

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Speaker 2: undergrad in nursing then. So yeah, it was the only

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Speaker 2: UNI I got into. So it made the decision easy

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Speaker 2: to move to Canberra. But it was a playing for

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Speaker 2: the canbra Vikings as well, So just studied and played footing.

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Speaker 2: It's like, what else could you want? What else do

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Speaker 2: you need to do?

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Speaker 3: What was it about nursing that drew you to it?

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Speaker 2: I originally wanted to be a paramedic, so I really

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Speaker 2: enjoyed the idea of being like the first person on

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Speaker 2: the scene and having the autonomy and okay, Lork, it's

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Speaker 2: a bit brutal, but I just love the idea of

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Speaker 2: being like at a car crash and you having to

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Speaker 2: rock up and figure it all out and you know,

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Speaker 2: resus that person. I really liked that idea. And then

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Speaker 2: just chatting to a few people, they said nursing was

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Speaker 2: a really good avenue to get into paramedics, and so

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Speaker 2: I did that. But then I absolutely loved nursing and

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Speaker 2: never looked back whatsoever was on the site. I don't

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Speaker 2: want to be a paramedicy more. Nursing just found what

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Speaker 2: I wanted to do straight away and I was super lucky.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and without fast forwarding too far through your story,

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Speaker 3: you've also now done midwif three as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, so I started my midwif three in twenty

295
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Speaker 2: twenty two, did the new South Wales Midstart program, so

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Speaker 2: that was a twelve month program with that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: So I always wanted to be mid because I wanted

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Speaker 2: to work for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and you

300
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Speaker 2: had to have your dual registration, so that was the

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Speaker 2: motivation behind that. So yeah, I've been really enjoying becoming

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Speaker 2: a midwife and seeing a completely different side to the

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Speaker 2: healthcare system as well.

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Speaker 3: It's a pretty insane drob, I imagine it is. It is.

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Speaker 2: It's like it's so unpredictable because nursing wise, I'm a

306
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Speaker 2: critical care nurse, so I work in ice you and

307
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Speaker 2: it's as unpredictable, unpredictable as if it is. At times

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Speaker 2: you can still kind of predict which way it's going

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Speaker 2: to go, and it's in a controlled environment where Midwiffrey.

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Speaker 2: You've got no idea what you're like, what it's going

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Speaker 2: to be like, but you meet some really amazing people

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Speaker 2: along the way, and as a midwife, to me, it's

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Speaker 2: such a privilege and an absolute honor to be a

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Speaker 2: part of these women and their partners who are coming

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Speaker 2: in as part of this pregnancy and birthing journey and

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Speaker 2: just seeing what it means to them. And then I

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Speaker 2: still remember that first little baby I saw ever being born,

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Speaker 2: Like I had no idea what to expect, and just

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Speaker 2: watching this woman just birth this baby and the just

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Speaker 2: like love and joy and adoration and just all these

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Speaker 2: emotions all at once and you just see this little

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Speaker 2: human just come out and you're just like, that baby

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Speaker 2: just came out, like the belly and they made that baby,

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Speaker 2: and that's going to be a human, you know. And

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Speaker 2: it's like birth is. It's beautiful, but it's very messy.

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Speaker 2: And it was just like this moment where I was like,

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Speaker 2: this is what I want to do, and just being

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Speaker 2: to be able to do that every day I go

329
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Speaker 2: to work, it's just it's absolutely privileged to be able

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Speaker 2: to do that and help bring babies into the world.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that it's an insane Like when Fred

332
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Speaker 3: was born, it's an insane. It is the weirdest concept

333
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Speaker 3: that a baby can actually come out, They can be

334
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Speaker 3: grown inside of us and then it comes out and

335
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Speaker 3: then now it's just this awesome little human. Like it's

336
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Speaker 3: the most incredible process.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and it just kind of seems like so long

338
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Speaker 2: ago as well, and you're like, wait, did we do that?

339
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Speaker 2: Is that how babies were made? Should add?

340
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Speaker 3: Yeah?

341
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it is, and like everything you learn along

342
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Speaker 2: the way, but also like everything you learn about each other,

343
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Speaker 2: you know, So the woman with like during the pregnancy

344
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Speaker 2: and their body and how it changes and what the

345
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Speaker 2: bodies can do and just not just the physical body

346
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Speaker 2: but the minds and like especially during that birthing process

347
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Speaker 2: when like the woman's like I need a push and

348
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Speaker 2: just like that natural instinct and the body knows exactly

349
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Speaker 2: what's to do. It's just such a beautiful moment to

350
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Speaker 2: witness and be a part of.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that. That's awesome. So, Rugby, you mentioned

352
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Speaker 3: you took a break. At what point did you decide

353
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Speaker 3: you wanted to take a break.

354
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Speaker 2: From my book? Yeah, so I think it was about

355
00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:40,760
Speaker 2: two thousand and thirteen, twenty fourteen, I kind of realized

356
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:42,960
Speaker 2: I was leaning a bit too hard into the rugby

357
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Speaker 2: life and the rugby culture and wanted to focus a

358
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Speaker 2: little bit more on my career.

359
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Speaker 3: I'm ready between the lines a little bit.

360
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Speaker 2: Maybe, Yeah, you're definitely reading between the lines there, Chloe.

361
00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:57,120
Speaker 2: You played rugby, you know it was flat. Yeah. I

362
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Speaker 2: just really wanted to focus on my career a little

363
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Speaker 2: bit more, and I got the travel bug. Like I

364
00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,360
Speaker 2: think it was maybe twenty thirteen or fourteen, I just

365
00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:07,840
Speaker 2: booked a one way well I ticket over season, did

366
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Speaker 2: a top deck tour and I absolutely loved it. But

367
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Speaker 2: I kind of realized I was doing good at rugby,

368
00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,120
Speaker 2: but there was more in work that I wanted to do.

369
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Speaker 2: Being ICU, there's a lot of growth, personal growth and development,

370
00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,760
Speaker 2: and I wanted to focus on that. So I kind

371
00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:23,400
Speaker 2: of took a step back from fifteen's and then was

372
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,880
Speaker 2: still playing sevens at the time. And then seven's got

373
00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,800
Speaker 2: really big with the introduction into like Rio coming in

374
00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:33,320
Speaker 2: and whatnot as well, so he got back stayed in

375
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Speaker 2: sevens and then I was captaining the Brumby seven teams

376
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,480
Speaker 2: when Christy Giddo was our coach as well. I did

377
00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,200
Speaker 2: a couple of seasons then and then Yeah. So I

378
00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,480
Speaker 2: was also doing surf boats at the time. So down

379
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Speaker 2: on the south Fast South Coast, we have a marathon

380
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Speaker 2: called the George Bass Marathon. So you werete one hundred

381
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Speaker 2: and ninety kilometers in seven days from Bateman's Bay to Eden.

382
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Speaker 3: That's insane.

383
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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty grueling. And the buttlisters are real. They

384
00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,200
Speaker 2: are real things, seriously. Yeah, yeah, legit.

385
00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:05,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, there'd be a worse place to get a blister.

386
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Speaker 2: That's brutal potentially, but the butt's pretty bad. Yeah, and

387
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,920
Speaker 2: you're rowing. Depending on the leg, you could be rowing

388
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Speaker 2: for a couple of hours on that as well.

389
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Speaker 3: Well yeah, yeah, yeah, nah, that's for me. I've tapped

390
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:19,320
Speaker 3: out of that sport. I don't know when I was

391
00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:20,800
Speaker 3: ever going to do it, but that's no for me.

392
00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, So it's it's good. It's a very mentally physically

393
00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,720
Speaker 2: challenging race to do. So I've done two George Baths

394
00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,760
Speaker 2: marathons as well, and with the surfboat we also had

395
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,119
Speaker 2: the really awesome opportunity for the Gallipoli one hundred year anniversary.

396
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,199
Speaker 2: We went over to Gallipoli and did a commemorative row

397
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:39,359
Speaker 2: for a group called the Gallickily one hundred. So we

398
00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,240
Speaker 2: rode through the dard Nels netchie backdown and did a

399
00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:45,760
Speaker 2: re enactment of the Glipoli landing on Nzac Day as

400
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,720
Speaker 2: well in twenty fifteen. So that was another really cool

401
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,240
Speaker 2: thing through sport that has come out of it. So

402
00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,439
Speaker 2: I was doing that on the side as well instead

403
00:17:54,440 --> 00:18:00,360
Speaker 2: of kind of just playing fifteens all the time. So yeah,

404
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:01,920
Speaker 2: I kind of forget where we're going with that.

405
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:04,080
Speaker 3: That's an incredible opportunity.

406
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was amazing just to physically be in Gallipoli

407
00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,240
Speaker 2: for one hundred year anniversary, but to do such a

408
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,040
Speaker 2: special surf boat row and reenact the landing in boats

409
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:14,960
Speaker 2: that were pretty much exactly the same as what the

410
00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,719
Speaker 2: ANZACs were landing on. And I remember the first day

411
00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:19,720
Speaker 2: we went to Gillipoli. It was in the daytime and

412
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:21,760
Speaker 2: you just come up to the shore and you just

413
00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,520
Speaker 2: look up those cliffs and you're looking there and you're like, wow,

414
00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,280
Speaker 2: the ANZACs landed here in the dark with hardly anything

415
00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,399
Speaker 2: and just being fired upon and bombs, and it just

416
00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,920
Speaker 2: really puts it into perspective how lucky we are to

417
00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,320
Speaker 2: have what we have today. From you know, the people

418
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,840
Speaker 2: before us who sacrificed their lives and their families and

419
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:42,879
Speaker 2: went through that time, so you know, to fight for

420
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,680
Speaker 2: their country and for fight what we have today was

421
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:47,840
Speaker 2: like a really special moment. We'll be able to do

422
00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,639
Speaker 2: that because I remember that that afternoon we got to

423
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:52,639
Speaker 2: Glipoli and one of the guys put out his bagpipes

424
00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,840
Speaker 2: and started playing Waltz Sigma Waltz Sigmatilda, and it's just

425
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,800
Speaker 2: like goose bumps and tears. And then he did it

426
00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:00,720
Speaker 2: again the next morning when we're sitting out in the

427
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,080
Speaker 2: water in front of like because we couldn't land on

428
00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,400
Speaker 2: Anzac Cove, so we just reenacted it on a little

429
00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:07,680
Speaker 2: beach up there and he did it then and it

430
00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:09,160
Speaker 2: was just like I don't think there was a dry

431
00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,120
Speaker 2: eye on the whole beach and just you know, waltzing

432
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,280
Speaker 2: Matilda has just never meant anything to you before. So

433
00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,840
Speaker 2: that was a really awesome kind of opportunity along the

434
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:18,600
Speaker 2: way as well.

435
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,399
Speaker 3: It is quite powerful sometimes that like the doors that

436
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:22,480
Speaker 3: sport opens.

437
00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, yeah, one so, and it's just like a

438
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,760
Speaker 2: lot of it's about taking the opportunities as well and

439
00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:32,440
Speaker 2: just making something out of it. And as I said,

440
00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,280
Speaker 2: like not everyone got the chance to go over there

441
00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,440
Speaker 2: to be there glickling for one hundredye anniversary. But I

442
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:38,520
Speaker 2: did and got to do a sporting thing and have

443
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:40,120
Speaker 2: some fun place and too up as well.

444
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,160
Speaker 3: Oh great, love a bit of tour.

445
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:43,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that's pretty good.

446
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:48,359
Speaker 3: That's awesome. And then so Brumby's twenty sixteen, Yeah, had

447
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,280
Speaker 3: a pretty significant knee dislocation. Yeah.

448
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a nice way of putting it. Yeah, So

449
00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:56,440
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen March twenty sixteen was essentially the moment that

450
00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,680
Speaker 2: completely changed my life. So throughout the whole time playing

451
00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,800
Speaker 2: BRUMBI is wearing the green and gold jersey was the goal.

452
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,480
Speaker 2: The real backstory with the green and gold jersey is

453
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,240
Speaker 2: I remember, I don't remember exactly, but I was the

454
00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,280
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety six Olympics and from that I wanted to

455
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:13,040
Speaker 2: go to the Olympics. I wanted to wear the green

456
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:14,680
Speaker 2: and gold. But I was a little bit of a

457
00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,720
Speaker 2: creative kid as much as I was in my shell,

458
00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,560
Speaker 2: and I created my own sport. I wanted to go

459
00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:20,920
Speaker 2: to the Olympics for chuk feeding.

460
00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:24,440
Speaker 3: So it's amazing.

461
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I tell the kids that at school when

462
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,560
Speaker 2: I do presentations, But I don't get much of a reaction,

463
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,480
Speaker 2: which I get a bit disappointed about. I think around, Yeah,

464
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:34,480
Speaker 2: I don't think they understand it. I don't think they

465
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,440
Speaker 2: think I'm serious. But I was like Anthony and my

466
00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:39,080
Speaker 2: family when I grew up, I wanted to be an

467
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,119
Speaker 2: Olympic chuck feeder, Like I was going to create the

468
00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,480
Speaker 2: event it was gonna happen. I was gonna wear green gold,

469
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,840
Speaker 2: like that was the reason why. But then growing up,

470
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,400
Speaker 2: you know, as you learn things in life, some things

471
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,200
Speaker 2: aren't true. And I learned that I was never gonna

472
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:57,760
Speaker 2: be an Olympic chook feeder. So to find Yeah, and

473
00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,720
Speaker 2: so playing rugby union and like I good. But back

474
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,600
Speaker 2: then when I was playing, like pre twenty sixteen, like

475
00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,399
Speaker 2: I didn't have the grid, Like I knew I had talent,

476
00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,399
Speaker 2: but I didn't apply myself. I kind of was sitting

477
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,240
Speaker 2: waiting for that jersey to be given to me. Like

478
00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:14,920
Speaker 2: I made two Wallery camps, and I remember at the

479
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,200
Speaker 2: second one, the coach was just like, you're good, You're

480
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,920
Speaker 2: just not that good. And that was the only feedback

481
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,440
Speaker 2: I've gotten. It's like, okay, well, if I want to

482
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:24,920
Speaker 2: do this, like I have to do it. So I

483
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 2: started you know, getting a bit more serious with Jim

484
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,520
Speaker 2: doing more running sessions and just doing those things that

485
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:32,840
Speaker 2: I didn't want to do and realizing that I actually

486
00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,399
Speaker 2: had to work for this. And so yeah, twenty sixteen,

487
00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,720
Speaker 2: it was our first preseason game down at Viking Parking Camera,

488
00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:43,560
Speaker 2: and I was like, it was a great game. We

489
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,160
Speaker 2: were smashing it, like it was such a good game.

490
00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,119
Speaker 2: And I remember I made a break down the sideline

491
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:49,800
Speaker 2: and I was offloading to one of my teammates and

492
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,720
Speaker 2: I got tackled from the left hand side and that's

493
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,600
Speaker 2: just when like time completely stopped and life was never

494
00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,359
Speaker 2: the same again. I looked down to the ground. I

495
00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,440
Speaker 2: was screaming before I hit the ground, and I could

496
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,000
Speaker 2: see my foot facing one way and like my knee

497
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,359
Speaker 2: facing the other. And my sister said that one of

498
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,840
Speaker 2: my teammates jumped on me to stop me from rolling

499
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,159
Speaker 2: around because of the pain I like was in. I

500
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,600
Speaker 2: remember the screen. It was just like something you never

501
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,600
Speaker 2: heard before. I didn't even know like my body was

502
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:24,320
Speaker 2: capable of that. And yeah, so the ambos eventually came.

503
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,960
Speaker 2: A couple of green Whissiles later got to hospital and

504
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,280
Speaker 2: turns out I dislocated my knee and so it wasn't

505
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,439
Speaker 2: just the knee capitals like the actual joint had fully dislocated.

506
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:38,000
Speaker 2: And so yeah, in that process, I tore three ligaments.

507
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,560
Speaker 2: I severed my poplytil artery. Well, I had a fifteen

508
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,240
Speaker 2: centemi dissection, which means there was fifteen centemes crack in

509
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,520
Speaker 2: the wall, so blood wasn't going where it meant to be.

510
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:52,120
Speaker 2: And I completely served my peranial nerve like the plastic surgeons,

511
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,240
Speaker 2: so they could never find one end of it. So

512
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,520
Speaker 2: as a result of that, there was a few complications

513
00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:01,560
Speaker 2: and I developed and compartment syndrome. And like I thought

514
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,800
Speaker 2: the pain from the tackle was bad, I had was

515
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,480
Speaker 2: completely wrong. The compartment syndrome. I would not wish it

516
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,680
Speaker 2: upon anyone. It felt like there was a grenade in

517
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,520
Speaker 2: my leg. It felt like it was just a bomb

518
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,320
Speaker 2: trying to go off, exploding because there was just so

519
00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,520
Speaker 2: much blood and toxins building up my leg and that

520
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:21,600
Speaker 2: had nowhere to go. And so eventually I got taken

521
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,720
Speaker 2: to surgery, and I remember the last memory I have

522
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,680
Speaker 2: before waking up after that surgery was I went turned

523
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,239
Speaker 2: to the vascular surgeon and I said, am I going

524
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,480
Speaker 2: to lose my leg? And started crying and he said

525
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:34,480
Speaker 2: to me, yes, and then that's when they put me

526
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,280
Speaker 2: to sleep. And then so the first thing I woke

527
00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,680
Speaker 2: up like obviously quite drugging and hazy, like there'd be

528
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,399
Speaker 2: a lot happening waking up for a general anaesthetic. I

529
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,399
Speaker 2: remember just reaching down and feeling for my leg and

530
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,040
Speaker 2: I still had my leg, and I was just like,

531
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,080
Speaker 2: what's going on? Like I wasn't waking up expecting that,

532
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 2: but that, you know, that wasn't the end of the

533
00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,480
Speaker 2: road for me. Sixteen surgeries later in nine months. Originally

534
00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:58,960
Speaker 2: I had ten surgeries in twenty one days to save

535
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,840
Speaker 2: my leg because they had to bride to remove lots

536
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,120
Speaker 2: of dead muscle from the compartment syndrome. I had two

537
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,080
Speaker 2: skin grafts. Then I would get infections, so I'd have

538
00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,119
Speaker 2: to get them washed out as well. And then eventually

539
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,840
Speaker 2: nine months later, everything was all healed. My skin graft

540
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:18,560
Speaker 2: was healed and I could finally have my three ligaments replaced. So, yeah,

541
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:19,680
Speaker 2: there was quite a lot going on.

542
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,159
Speaker 3: What on earth was that like? To process that that

543
00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,440
Speaker 3: happened playing a game of rugby.

544
00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,280
Speaker 2: Quite easy, but also the processing didn't happen until a

545
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:34,159
Speaker 2: lot later down the track, like For me, it was

546
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,160
Speaker 2: waking up from that surgery and one of the first doctors,

547
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:40,200
Speaker 2: one of the doctors first told me, he was like,

548
00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:42,160
Speaker 2: you're never going to run again, Like you're probably never

549
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:43,680
Speaker 2: going to walk again. That was the first thing I

550
00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:45,520
Speaker 2: ever got told. And like he walked down the room

551
00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:47,119
Speaker 2: and I turned to run and said, I'll show him.

552
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,879
Speaker 2: I'm going to run again. So but then it was

553
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,639
Speaker 2: like the reality set in the pain. It was just

554
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,920
Speaker 2: literally minute by minute trying to get through the pain.

555
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:59,920
Speaker 2: The doctors. I was on ketamine infusions, mentional infusions, morphine infusions, plaus,

556
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:03,560
Speaker 2: lot of oral energiesier, we tried epidurals, we tried nerve blocks.

557
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:06,720
Speaker 2: So I was in ICU for four weeks. So I

558
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,000
Speaker 2: was actually in the ICU that I worked in as

559
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:10,760
Speaker 2: a nurse as well, so I was a patient in

560
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:15,120
Speaker 2: my own ward and yeah, and I had amazing doctors there.

561
00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,359
Speaker 2: He were doing a lot for me to save my

562
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,800
Speaker 2: leg and super grateful for that. So the pain was

563
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,520
Speaker 2: really really hard. But then on top of that, it

564
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,840
Speaker 2: was the reality of the doctors coming in and say,

565
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,560
Speaker 2: we have to go for another surgery. We're not sure

566
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:30,080
Speaker 2: if you're going to come back with a leg or

567
00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:32,080
Speaker 2: without a leg. We don't know what it's going to

568
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,240
Speaker 2: be till we get in there, So there was multiple surgeries.

569
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,040
Speaker 2: I think it was probably that first ten surgeries in

570
00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 2: the twenty one days. Every time I was put asleep,

571
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,240
Speaker 2: I didn't know if I was going to wake up

572
00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,639
Speaker 2: with or without a leg, So I didn't have time

573
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,600
Speaker 2: to really think about anything else. It was like, Okay,

574
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:47,439
Speaker 2: what can I do today to get through this surgery?

575
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 2: Like I had no appetite, so it was just like

576
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 2: trying as much as we could to get food into

577
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,080
Speaker 2: me to give me energy to recover and for like

578
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,960
Speaker 2: wound healing as well. And I knew it was a nurse,

579
00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:59,880
Speaker 2: like those little things were what really mattered. And then

580
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:01,600
Speaker 2: when I was kind of well enough, then it was

581
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,200
Speaker 2: like doing my rehab. I was like, well, I've still

582
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,320
Speaker 2: got two good arms and a good leg, like you know,

583
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 2: because there's a funny story like I was doing weights

584
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,840
Speaker 2: one day and my arm got really really sore, and

585
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,320
Speaker 2: my sister's like, come one one more rep. That was

586
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,920
Speaker 2: like the little motto we had. And then for days

587
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 2: I was like, nah, this is I like torn my

588
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,280
Speaker 2: bicet It was so sore. And then turns out I

589
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,040
Speaker 2: had a massive blood clot from the middle of my

590
00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:25,760
Speaker 2: bicet up into my clavicor. Because we just thought it

591
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:27,600
Speaker 2: was from doing weights, no one picked up on it

592
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:28,200
Speaker 2: for days.

593
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,720
Speaker 3: Oh my god, was this in the hospital in the hospital, yeah,

594
00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:34,680
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, it's pretty iconic that you were just

595
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:36,720
Speaker 3: seeing there getting reps in though, course.

596
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,199
Speaker 2: Yeah, totally. And I was really swarm like everyone's like, oh,

597
00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,160
Speaker 2: come on here, like you'll be right, one more rep.

598
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,639
Speaker 2: You've got this, like you know, meanwhile like trying to

599
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,159
Speaker 2: save my leg, got a blood clot forming that's like,

600
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:50,080
Speaker 2: you know, almost the size of half my arm, and

601
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,160
Speaker 2: just doing these reps because I still had two good

602
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,280
Speaker 2: two two good arms and a good leg. But instead

603
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,720
Speaker 2: at the time, you just didn't have any time to process.

604
00:26:57,760 --> 00:26:58,960
Speaker 2: It was just like, what do we need to do

605
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:00,439
Speaker 2: today to get through tomorrow?

606
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,080
Speaker 3: And so after waking up from each of those ten

607
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,480
Speaker 3: in twenty one days, were you just like reaching down

608
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,119
Speaker 3: to see if your leg was still their most.

609
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,359
Speaker 2: Team I don't remember a lot of it, to be honest,

610
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,960
Speaker 2: but I imagine so, yeah, just each time I didn't

611
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,199
Speaker 2: know what the outcome was going to be. Every time

612
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:19,199
Speaker 2: I woke up and.

613
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:22,440
Speaker 3: What was it like being in a very familiar environment

614
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,200
Speaker 3: to you, but as a patient who was trying to

615
00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:27,280
Speaker 3: grapple with this really significant injury.

616
00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:31,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, for me, going to ICU saved my leg. If

617
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,119
Speaker 2: I went to the ward, I definitely would have had

618
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,520
Speaker 2: my leg amputated for sure. But for me there was

619
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:37,720
Speaker 2: a little comfort. I had a really amazing boss who

620
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,639
Speaker 2: when she realized that I was a patient there, she

621
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 2: came in and said, Nikki, here's like, here's the roster.

622
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:45,879
Speaker 2: You pick the people you wann't caring for you. And

623
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,000
Speaker 2: so for me that was a really amazing thing, so

624
00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:51,600
Speaker 2: that I could have. Being in hospital is a moment

625
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:57,000
Speaker 2: of absolute vulnerability. And then being in your workplace where

626
00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,040
Speaker 2: you work with these people you know them professionally and

627
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,240
Speaker 2: they know you, but they don't know you that personally.

628
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 2: You're so vulnerable because it's so intimate, they know absolutely

629
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 2: everything about you. So to be able to have just

630
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,479
Speaker 2: a little bit of control, because that was the thing

631
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,479
Speaker 2: I had no control over anything like not having control

632
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,639
Speaker 2: was the hardest thing as well. So that was the

633
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:16,680
Speaker 2: way my boss at the time gave me a little

634
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 2: bit of control back, and so that made a really

635
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,280
Speaker 2: big difference, but also having a rapport with the doctors.

636
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,720
Speaker 2: I think that also helped them want to do everything

637
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,080
Speaker 2: they could to control that pain and help me. And

638
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,240
Speaker 2: I think that made a really big difference too. And

639
00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,800
Speaker 2: I could have honest conversations, Like I have a conversation

640
00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:35,639
Speaker 2: with one of my friends. It was like with the

641
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 2: first day she looked after me and she it was

642
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 2: the day we found out I had the blood clot.

643
00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,600
Speaker 2: She's like, oh, the doctors they just want to give

644
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 2: you like prophylactic colexaying, so they don't want to treat

645
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 2: the blood clot, but we'll give it to you to

646
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:48,480
Speaker 2: thin your blood. And I'm like, well, I've got a

647
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,240
Speaker 2: blood clot. We need to treat this. And she's like,

648
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,880
Speaker 2: I know, but this is what idy, go get the doctor.

649
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,040
Speaker 2: I was like, tell him to come in here. And

650
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:56,600
Speaker 2: so she got the doctor and you come in here,

651
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,760
Speaker 2: and I'm like, why aren't you treating these like you know,

652
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,040
Speaker 2: there's a blood clot and so like it was good

653
00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:03,400
Speaker 2: because I could advocate for myself and like, Okay, Nikki,

654
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 2: like yep, you're not an idiot. We agree, let's do this.

655
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,400
Speaker 2: You know. Like sometimes i'd be pretty passed out and

656
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:13,800
Speaker 2: someoneould do something and they weren't doing it to my standard.

657
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:15,880
Speaker 2: My family would laugh. I'd wake up tell them and

658
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,200
Speaker 2: that I'd be passed out again. So my family had

659
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:20,800
Speaker 2: a lot of entertainment watching me tell other people how

660
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 2: to do their job. But it was very comforting and

661
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,440
Speaker 2: it was really I think in long run, I think

662
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:28,640
Speaker 2: it was one of the best things for me to

663
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:30,680
Speaker 2: be able to be in that workplace and have that

664
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,920
Speaker 2: connection with some of those colleagues that I hadn't had

665
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,720
Speaker 2: before as well, and.

666
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,239
Speaker 3: On that control piece, from what I understand, that's one

667
00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,520
Speaker 3: of your big big mantras is control what you can control.

668
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely off the back of that. Yeah, that was

669
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,360
Speaker 2: from that same boss, one of the conversations she had

670
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:48,800
Speaker 2: with me, and that was the first time it was

671
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,400
Speaker 2: ever put into the words for me to be able

672
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,880
Speaker 2: to see that and resonate what it was. Control what

673
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:54,720
Speaker 2: you can control.

674
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:55,280
Speaker 3: You know.

675
00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:00,240
Speaker 2: I couldn't control that money dissiccated that it took a

676
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:03,600
Speaker 2: little bit longer, and there was complications, you know, I

677
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:05,600
Speaker 2: couldn't control that. I had the ten surgery in twenty

678
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,160
Speaker 2: one days. But what I could control was how I

679
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:10,360
Speaker 2: reacted to that and what I was going to do

680
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:11,920
Speaker 2: with it, and I was doing it already, and I

681
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,240
Speaker 2: didn't really realize. It was like I was doing my

682
00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,000
Speaker 2: rehab as much as I could. I was in hospital

683
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:18,920
Speaker 2: for eight weeks, I was in ICU for four weeks,

684
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 2: on the ward for four weeks, and I think it

685
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:22,040
Speaker 2: was within a week I was back at the gym.

686
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:24,800
Speaker 2: I was on crutches with my external fixation and I

687
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,160
Speaker 2: had this big metal cage in my leg, and I

688
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:29,240
Speaker 2: was going to the gym because it's like, as I said,

689
00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:30,960
Speaker 2: I got two good arms and a good leg, and

690
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 2: my sister was there. She'd get my weight, she'd set

691
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 2: me up, and people would come up and you know,

692
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 2: tell me stories compare like their war wounds and stuff.

693
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 2: But it was like, Okay, I can't control what's happened

694
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 2: to me, but I can control what I'm going to

695
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:45,640
Speaker 2: do for now, and I can control that I'm going

696
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:47,440
Speaker 2: to make the most of this because I know this

697
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,120
Speaker 2: could have been worse, and I know there's people who

698
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,920
Speaker 2: have similar injuries or other injuries that are worse off,

699
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,840
Speaker 2: and I'm not going to waste this opportunity. And very

700
00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:01,080
Speaker 2: subconsciously I knew that that was moment to really find

701
00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:04,440
Speaker 2: that grit in me and make the most of this somehow.

702
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:06,080
Speaker 2: I didn't know what it was going to be, but

703
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 2: I wasn't going to sit there and feel sorry for myself.

704
00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:11,160
Speaker 2: I was going to do everything I could to have

705
00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:14,080
Speaker 2: the best recovery and give my leg the best chance

706
00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:14,720
Speaker 2: of survival.

707
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,640
Speaker 3: Where did the seed come from for kakoda?

708
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:24,320
Speaker 2: The kakota? Yeah, that was my friend pitp who she

709
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 2: was actually the Vikings person who got my sister right

710
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,480
Speaker 2: into footy back in the day. So it was after

711
00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:32,080
Speaker 2: my knee one day She's like, do you want to

712
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,240
Speaker 2: do kakota? And I was like all right, Like literally

713
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,360
Speaker 2: never really thought about it before, and after everything happened,

714
00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:41,360
Speaker 2: I was like why not? You know for me because

715
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,480
Speaker 2: at that point, like with control, your control was also

716
00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:46,280
Speaker 2: finding about It wasn't finding about what I couldn't do,

717
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,800
Speaker 2: It was about finding what I could do now, and

718
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,720
Speaker 2: so it was just like a no brainer. I was like,

719
00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:54,920
Speaker 2: all right, cool, let's do it. So in twenty eighteen,

720
00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,040
Speaker 2: which was the first year I made the Australian team

721
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,520
Speaker 2: for rowing, it all happened and then complete a kakota

722
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,560
Speaker 2: and it was one of the most amazing life experiences. Again,

723
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:09,320
Speaker 2: being able to trace the full steps of you know,

724
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,360
Speaker 2: those soldiers who fought there, and to see the conditions

725
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:15,240
Speaker 2: in the environment they went through, and we had it

726
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,640
Speaker 2: so much better and you know what we had, but

727
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,200
Speaker 2: being able to take a moment and recognize and thank

728
00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 2: them for what they did for us to have a

729
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:26,200
Speaker 2: wheels was absolutely amazing. And for me, I found it

730
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:30,760
Speaker 2: extremely physically grueling. My hiking boots broke down my skin

731
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,000
Speaker 2: graft and so for the majority of the track I

732
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:36,840
Speaker 2: had a raging open wound that was painful every step

733
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:38,600
Speaker 2: and I was trying every day to stop it from

734
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:42,120
Speaker 2: getting infected as well. So physically that was a lot.

735
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:44,800
Speaker 2: And you know, I was the last person into camp

736
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,120
Speaker 2: every day. Wasn't super fit back then, but I still

737
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,160
Speaker 2: did it and had the opportunity, and that was a

738
00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:52,160
Speaker 2: really good moment for me because it was just like,

739
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:54,560
Speaker 2: it's not about finding what I can't do, It's about

740
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:55,400
Speaker 2: finding what I can do.

741
00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:55,680
Speaker 3: Now.

742
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,360
Speaker 2: You know, I'm my only limit, I'm my own barrier,

743
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,080
Speaker 2: So like, let's go for what's next.

744
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 3: And you mentioned that being the year of rowing. Where

745
00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:06,200
Speaker 3: did power rowing come into the radar?

746
00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:10,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, so that was just a three A friend from footy.

747
00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,240
Speaker 2: She used to work with Karen Faulkner, who was like

748
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,360
Speaker 2: one of the physios apparently Picked Australia at the time,

749
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,880
Speaker 2: and she's like, give Nikki my number when she's ready,

750
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:20,640
Speaker 2: And I called her and she said, Hey, there's this

751
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:24,120
Speaker 2: information session at the AES called Train for Tokyo. Come along.

752
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,320
Speaker 2: And I was still on crutches. I'm pretty sure I

753
00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:28,920
Speaker 2: SI had fixations in my leg at that time. And

754
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,720
Speaker 2: Mum and Dad came along and we had no idea

755
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:32,400
Speaker 2: what to expect, just crutch in the and there was

756
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,800
Speaker 2: just like these people in wheelchairs doing fitness testing. There's

757
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,840
Speaker 2: different sports and just like I didn't even know at

758
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 2: that point I was a person with a disability, let

759
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:44,600
Speaker 2: alone the potential of like finding my identity as an

760
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,760
Speaker 2: athlete again. And so went to that, chatted to a

761
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,320
Speaker 2: few people, did a couple of drills, and out of that,

762
00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:52,840
Speaker 2: apparently Picked Australia sent me a letter and they were like,

763
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,600
Speaker 2: here's some sports. So they said wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball,

764
00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:00,800
Speaker 2: rowing and cycling are the sports that you're sort he's

765
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,000
Speaker 2: a little cash grant and yeah. Rowing got in contact

766
00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,080
Speaker 2: with me and kept in contact and they were pretty

767
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:11,360
Speaker 2: keen So and kat Ross was the paralympian who was

768
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:13,239
Speaker 2: speaking on the day as well, and she went back

769
00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,040
Speaker 2: to rowing Australia was like, you need to get this

770
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:19,000
Speaker 2: chick and one of my so Pip again. Her dad

771
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:21,480
Speaker 2: was a rowing coach for one of the local rowing

772
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,400
Speaker 2: clubs in Camera Coppa Lakes Rowing Club. I thought, how

773
00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,040
Speaker 2: different could this be to surfboats and I kind of

774
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,880
Speaker 2: knew someone, which was a bit easier, you know, just

775
00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:32,040
Speaker 2: having somewhere around there that you already had connection with

776
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:36,600
Speaker 2: in trying this really scary new adventure and figuring out

777
00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:39,239
Speaker 2: my body and me as a new athlete and a

778
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:42,120
Speaker 2: person with a disability as well. And so went and

779
00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,759
Speaker 2: jumped in the single skull, fell out who knows how

780
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:47,600
Speaker 2: many times, but kept in getting back in and for

781
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,719
Speaker 2: me rowing I remember doing an article and it was

782
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:52,319
Speaker 2: like I said, rowing was that light at the end

783
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:54,560
Speaker 2: of the tunnel. Because I was so lost, I didn't

784
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,600
Speaker 2: have an identity as an athlete. I was really struggling

785
00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,360
Speaker 2: coming to terms with my body and my ident and

786
00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:02,400
Speaker 2: what I looked like now. You know, I'd look at

787
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,160
Speaker 2: my leg after my accident, I wouldn't recognize it. I'd

788
00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,520
Speaker 2: look at my leg before my accident, I wouldn't recognize it.

789
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,920
Speaker 2: So there's a lot of body confidence to deal with

790
00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:13,680
Speaker 2: and rowing it gave me a purpose, It gave me

791
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:15,800
Speaker 2: something to work towards, and then it gave me that

792
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:18,560
Speaker 2: identity as an athlete again. And then becoming a part

793
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:23,720
Speaker 2: of the Parer mob was just a life changing event

794
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:26,480
Speaker 2: as well, just being included and accepted for who you

795
00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:30,879
Speaker 2: aren't having this opportunity just because you're different. There's still

796
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,640
Speaker 2: things for you to do out there's still greatness you

797
00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:36,480
Speaker 2: can achieve, and to be able to have that was amazing.

798
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:41,360
Speaker 2: So in twenty eighteen, I started rowing in January and

799
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:43,920
Speaker 2: then by March twenty eighteen I got selected for my

800
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:45,200
Speaker 2: first ever Australian team.

801
00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:46,320
Speaker 3: That's insane.

802
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, And then September twenty eighteen so I did Kakoda.

803
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,920
Speaker 2: I think it might have been June twenty eighteen, and

804
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:57,560
Speaker 2: then September twenty eighteen went to my first ever World Championships. Yeah.

805
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,279
Speaker 2: I got to wear the green and gold ZOOTI. It

806
00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:05,880
Speaker 2: wasn't with your chalks, no, unfortunately, imagine that if it was, though.

807
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 3: But what did it feel like to pull on the

808
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:10,120
Speaker 3: green and gold and kind of reflect and it was

809
00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:12,080
Speaker 3: obviously very different to how you thought you might once

810
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:13,680
Speaker 3: get there. But what did it feel like to think

811
00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:15,439
Speaker 3: about that little kid who wanted to wear the green

812
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:16,080
Speaker 3: and gold one day?

813
00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, well it was really really tight and uncomfortable. The

814
00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:23,279
Speaker 2: Zooto itself, I bigger girl.

815
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,080
Speaker 3: They're not They're not easy. I don't imagine.

816
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:30,000
Speaker 2: I'm not envious of the row no, I mean, but

817
00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:34,000
Speaker 2: the error dynamic. They've got a perp performance. But on

818
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:38,759
Speaker 2: a serious note, it was it was unbelievable. Like I

819
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,200
Speaker 2: have a note on my phone and like I wrote

820
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,960
Speaker 2: like a message to my family and to me. It

821
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,680
Speaker 2: was one of the proudest moments because I wasn't doing

822
00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:50,440
Speaker 2: it just for me. I did it for them as well.

823
00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,879
Speaker 2: My family were my absolute rock every day for many

824
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:55,759
Speaker 2: like my mum and my sister and my nan were

825
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:58,480
Speaker 2: there pretty much every day for that first eight weeks,

826
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,480
Speaker 2: and without them encouraging me, I probably would have given up.

827
00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:05,960
Speaker 2: And you know, there was a day actually where I

828
00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:10,080
Speaker 2: was extremely like facing depression really bad, not wanting to

829
00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:12,400
Speaker 2: get out of bed, and one day my sister she

830
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,120
Speaker 2: literally just stripped me naked and said you are getting

831
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:17,040
Speaker 2: out of bed today and put clothes on me and

832
00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,719
Speaker 2: took me outside and that was the moment that I

833
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:22,800
Speaker 2: realized like I wasn't actually okay, Like I needed to

834
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,400
Speaker 2: go speak to someone, I needed to do something. And

835
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:29,560
Speaker 2: so being there on that start line in twenty eighteen

836
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,320
Speaker 2: in blog Bulk area, it was just like I've done it.

837
00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:36,000
Speaker 2: But I've done this for my family. I'm doing this

838
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:38,600
Speaker 2: for my country, and I could not be prouder for

839
00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:41,520
Speaker 2: who I've become and what I've overcome in this moment

840
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:43,600
Speaker 2: with the coat of arms of my chest in that

841
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:45,400
Speaker 2: green and gold Zooty and it was just one of

842
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:51,120
Speaker 2: the proudest, most exciting, teary yeah moments ever. And like

843
00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:53,879
Speaker 2: it was a tough race. It was a very tough race.

844
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,080
Speaker 2: We had a really good one k first k and

845
00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:57,799
Speaker 2: then we like died a little bit in the end,

846
00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,360
Speaker 2: but you know, we just represented Australier and made the

847
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,239
Speaker 2: A final and you know that just started the next

848
00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,319
Speaker 2: and the next step, the next journey, the next goal

849
00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:08,200
Speaker 2: and just wanting to be better.

850
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,680
Speaker 3: If we talk about rugby sevens, as you know, is brutal, right, Like, yeah,

851
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:16,520
Speaker 3: the intensity of it fifteen's, the contact is intense, but

852
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,520
Speaker 3: the game moves a bit more slowly, ye, rolling though

853
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:22,960
Speaker 3: like yuck, Yeah, the lactate and the yuck.

854
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:26,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just literally, you know, depending how long your

855
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:28,480
Speaker 2: race goes for I think in the fall back then

856
00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:30,880
Speaker 2: it was like eight minutes of working as hard as

857
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:33,719
Speaker 2: you can for eight minutes. Like and rowing is a

858
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 2: spot like rugby, you stop and you start, like you

859
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,200
Speaker 2: get a big hit, you might get winded. You kind

860
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,279
Speaker 2: of like wop to the wing or something, push someone in,

861
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,480
Speaker 2: you have a break, Like, there's ways around it. In plus, like,

862
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:46,120
Speaker 2: let's give the forwards some credits. They do a lot

863
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:54,080
Speaker 2: of working fifty in the back you just credit, but

864
00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:56,200
Speaker 2: in rowing you don't have that. And it works every

865
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:59,640
Speaker 2: muscle fiber in your body, like every square inch of

866
00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:02,840
Speaker 2: your lungs and every muscle is burning from it. So

867
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,680
Speaker 2: it is hard, and you know that's also kind of

868
00:39:06,719 --> 00:39:09,360
Speaker 2: the appeal to the sport is that challenge physically and

869
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:11,160
Speaker 2: mentally as well.

870
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,080
Speaker 3: So yeah, and pulling on the grain and gold and

871
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:16,920
Speaker 3: kind of representing your family and what you've been through

872
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,480
Speaker 3: was obviously a really big part of that drive. But

873
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:22,680
Speaker 3: was there a drive to win a Paralympic gold medal?

874
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:23,200
Speaker 1: Not?

875
00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:27,160
Speaker 2: At that point, No, the drive was purely just to

876
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:30,000
Speaker 2: get like it was just a focus. Really, it was

877
00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,560
Speaker 2: a distraction. It was rehabit was something to do. And

878
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:36,840
Speaker 2: then at the end of that World Championships, I was like, actually,

879
00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:39,239
Speaker 2: like I could be good at this. You know, what's

880
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:40,880
Speaker 2: the next thing? And it was like it was going

881
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,120
Speaker 2: to be twenty nineteen, then twenty twenty was going to

882
00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:46,160
Speaker 2: be the Games, and it's like, let's go for Tokyo.

883
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:48,560
Speaker 2: Let's go be a Paralympian, you know. And I think

884
00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:50,800
Speaker 2: at that point also I was starting to accept that

885
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:53,040
Speaker 2: I was a person with a disability and you need

886
00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:55,279
Speaker 2: that I could be a Paralympian because that's another thing

887
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:58,480
Speaker 2: that comes with saying you're a Paralympian is identifying as

888
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,320
Speaker 2: a person with a disability as well. So that helped

889
00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:05,600
Speaker 2: with that journey too. So yeah, after twenty eighteen, it

890
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:07,560
Speaker 2: was like all systems go for Tokyo.

891
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:10,600
Speaker 3: And then how did it feel to be selected for

892
00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:12,800
Speaker 3: Tokyo and to know that you were going to represent

893
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:14,040
Speaker 3: Australia at the Paralympics.

894
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:16,840
Speaker 2: It was good because in twenty nineteen I didn't get selected,

895
00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:22,800
Speaker 2: So that was a good reflection point for me, you know, failure.

896
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,920
Speaker 2: I have been able to try and find the positives

897
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:28,120
Speaker 2: and the silver linings, and with that in twenty nineteen,

898
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:30,080
Speaker 2: I was able to reflect me like, cool, Okay, why

899
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,160
Speaker 2: didn't I get selected? What do I need to do

900
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:34,480
Speaker 2: to be better? And so I did that And then

901
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:36,920
Speaker 2: to be in the middle of a pandemic and to

902
00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,080
Speaker 2: be able to go to a Paralympic Games was amazing.

903
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:44,360
Speaker 2: But to get selected because I was the best in

904
00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:49,080
Speaker 2: Australia to be a part of that crew was just

905
00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:54,560
Speaker 2: I can't even remember the excitement and just like the

906
00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:58,480
Speaker 2: joy of knowing that and being hey, I'm going to

907
00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:00,520
Speaker 2: be able to call myself a Paralympian, be a part

908
00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:04,200
Speaker 2: of this mob and a part of a journey of

909
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,080
Speaker 2: so many people that have come before us and the

910
00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:09,360
Speaker 2: trailblazers who have set up Paralympics to be what it

911
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:11,880
Speaker 2: is today. And so we have what we have today.

912
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,160
Speaker 2: And you didn't realize the extent of that till going

913
00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:18,440
Speaker 2: to Tokyo and then you get there and it was

914
00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:21,520
Speaker 2: so different during COVID, but it was still amazing just

915
00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:23,880
Speaker 2: going to the village and seeing the logos around and

916
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:27,440
Speaker 2: seeing the uniforms and seeing the other athletes and you know,

917
00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,120
Speaker 2: we crossed that line and that first heat and it's

918
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:33,040
Speaker 2: like we all just became Paralympians because we all debuted

919
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:34,880
Speaker 2: that year as well, and it's like we can all

920
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:36,759
Speaker 2: call ourselves a Paralympian. We're here in the Green and

921
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:39,719
Speaker 2: Gold Tokyo on the biggest world stage that we could

922
00:41:39,719 --> 00:41:42,439
Speaker 2: ever be on. And yeah, families were all back home,

923
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:44,560
Speaker 2: but I knew all my family and friends were back

924
00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:47,600
Speaker 2: home so proud of what I've achieved and that I

925
00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:50,920
Speaker 2: was there representing Australian, representing each one of them as well,

926
00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:52,640
Speaker 2: and that was a super special moment for me.

927
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:55,719
Speaker 3: That's awesome. And you're competing in the mixed coxed four

928
00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:57,640
Speaker 3: is that ye? Right? Yeah, the Tokyo was mixed cops

929
00:41:57,680 --> 00:41:59,120
Speaker 3: for and can you give us a breakdown of the

930
00:41:59,160 --> 00:41:59,960
Speaker 3: different discipline.

931
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:03,439
Speaker 2: Yeah, So the mixed cocks four, so we're throwing. There's

932
00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:06,439
Speaker 2: two male and two female rollers, and there's a cox

933
00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:08,799
Speaker 2: who doesn't have to have a disability, and so that's

934
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,520
Speaker 2: your PR three category, which essentially is a for a

935
00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:13,880
Speaker 2: roller who can use their leg, trunk and arms to

936
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,239
Speaker 2: their whole body. And then you'd have the PR two,

937
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:19,080
Speaker 2: which is a mixed double, so that's athletes who have

938
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:21,840
Speaker 2: more of a lower limb impairment, like a more significant

939
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,879
Speaker 2: lower limb disability. And then you have PR one, which

940
00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:27,400
Speaker 2: essentially are rollers who have a fixed seat like the

941
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:29,839
Speaker 2: PR twos. They have a fixed seat and they tend

942
00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:32,239
Speaker 2: to be more your everyday wheelchair users, or they have

943
00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:36,239
Speaker 2: quite significant thoracic mobility, so they tend to row more

944
00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,719
Speaker 2: with just their shoulder and arms. So there were three disciplines,

945
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:42,920
Speaker 2: and then for the Paris Parallel Pixels when they introduced

946
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,759
Speaker 2: the mixed double, which is what jed Andi rode. And

947
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:49,560
Speaker 2: so essentially you still row with your whole your whole body,

948
00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:51,760
Speaker 2: so you like trunken arms, but there's a point system

949
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:54,600
Speaker 2: so you have to be on the higher end of impairment.

950
00:42:55,200 --> 00:42:58,160
Speaker 2: So that means people who qualify for the four doesn't

951
00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:00,360
Speaker 2: mean they necessarily qualify for the double, and it just

952
00:43:00,440 --> 00:43:03,680
Speaker 2: makes it a bit more fair and equitable. So yeah,

953
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:05,400
Speaker 2: so that's why that got introduced.

954
00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:08,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, got yah And so Tokyo, you guys just missed

955
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:10,040
Speaker 3: out on we came fourth.

956
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:13,520
Speaker 2: Yeah yea, how did that feel? Honestly for me? Like

957
00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:18,160
Speaker 2: everyone's experience is different, but I still felt pretty good.

958
00:43:18,239 --> 00:43:21,560
Speaker 2: Like it was really hard coming forth Tokyo that year

959
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,520
Speaker 2: was hard. We got selected in March, I think it

960
00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:25,719
Speaker 2: was April. We had a camp and that got shut

961
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:27,680
Speaker 2: down early because the border closures, and then we didn't

962
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:29,600
Speaker 2: see each other for six months till we got to Tokyo.

963
00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:32,160
Speaker 3: That's insane. So we didn't both together.

964
00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:36,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So we didn't train together pretty much

965
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:37,480
Speaker 2: for six months and lead up to the Games. The

966
00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:39,560
Speaker 2: two guys because they were Insydney, they were training, but

967
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,200
Speaker 2: we didn't get together as a crew. So for me,

968
00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:44,600
Speaker 2: and because I was in the thick of COVID, I

969
00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:47,320
Speaker 2: was working in ICU in Canberra and so I was

970
00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:51,520
Speaker 2: seeing the devastation of that pandemic every single day. So

971
00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:55,520
Speaker 2: I the waiting of being able to have the privilege

972
00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:58,239
Speaker 2: to go overseas so Apparentlympic Games was not lost on me.

973
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:01,239
Speaker 2: Like I was watching people every day and loved ones

974
00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:05,080
Speaker 2: lose people every day because of this pandemic. So to

975
00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:07,640
Speaker 2: be have that opportunity to go there and represent Australia

976
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:12,200
Speaker 2: in this sporting stage. When we came fourth, yeah it

977
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,600
Speaker 2: sucked it was fourth, but I was so happy that

978
00:44:15,719 --> 00:44:18,040
Speaker 2: it was fourth because we just came fourth in the

979
00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:21,239
Speaker 2: world at the Paralympics on the world stage, and as

980
00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:23,480
Speaker 2: I said, all my friends and family were back home

981
00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:26,719
Speaker 2: watching knowing what I'd been through over the last five

982
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:29,320
Speaker 2: years and how hard I had worked and how stubborn

983
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,239
Speaker 2: and determined I was to be able to do that,

984
00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:34,360
Speaker 2: to be able to call myself a Paralympian. You know.

985
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:37,480
Speaker 2: Now I'm Paralympian one zero four eight. And it was

986
00:44:37,520 --> 00:44:40,600
Speaker 2: a super amazing moment. That's awesome, That's very very cool.

987
00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:44,040
Speaker 2: So Paris, the mixed doubles come in for the first time.

988
00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:48,080
Speaker 2: Can you talk about how you and Jed decided to

989
00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:50,920
Speaker 2: prepare and like how you were like, we're going to

990
00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:53,239
Speaker 2: go after this and try and win a gold my doll. Yeah. Yeah,

991
00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:55,279
Speaker 2: there was literally there was a phone call from the

992
00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:58,120
Speaker 2: Rowing Australia head coach at the moment when it got

993
00:44:58,160 --> 00:45:00,560
Speaker 2: announced and he's like, look, I think you and Jed

994
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:02,319
Speaker 2: would be really good minx and Jed and I had

995
00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:05,279
Speaker 2: a phone call after that and we're like, maye. Jed's like, mate,

996
00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:07,080
Speaker 2: I think we've really got something here, Like I think

997
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:08,759
Speaker 2: we can give it a good crack. I was like, yeah,

998
00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:12,600
Speaker 2: I do too, and Jed had to I think he

999
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,120
Speaker 2: had surgery and I had just gotten into my MIDWI

1000
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:17,120
Speaker 2: free course, so we're like, hey, let's just see how

1001
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:19,480
Speaker 2: this goes. So we just waited twelve months and just

1002
00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:23,440
Speaker 2: did life essentially, But we did end up getting together

1003
00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:25,880
Speaker 2: in Canberra for a camp and when we did get

1004
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:29,520
Speaker 2: in the boat, we're like, may this is good. Like

1005
00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:33,440
Speaker 2: it just straight away the boat felt amazing and it

1006
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:35,600
Speaker 2: just clicked. And we had a really good friendship outside

1007
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:38,000
Speaker 2: of rowing, which was the biggest reason why I considered

1008
00:45:38,160 --> 00:45:41,560
Speaker 2: doing the double and coming back. I was ready to,

1009
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:43,960
Speaker 2: you know, hang up the oars post Tokyo. I was

1010
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:46,520
Speaker 2: doing my midw free I had my partner at the time,

1011
00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:49,080
Speaker 2: we were looking at starting a family and doing all

1012
00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:52,640
Speaker 2: that other life stuff. And yeah, then the stars just

1013
00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:55,560
Speaker 2: aligned and Jed was ready and I was ready, and

1014
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:57,360
Speaker 2: we're like, all right, let's go for it. And we

1015
00:45:57,800 --> 00:45:59,279
Speaker 2: both were in it for gold. We weren't in it

1016
00:45:59,360 --> 00:45:59,920
Speaker 2: to do it for fun.

1017
00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:00,600
Speaker 3: You know.

1018
00:46:00,719 --> 00:46:03,640
Speaker 2: Jed was around for the Tokyo cycle and unfortunately didn't

1019
00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:06,200
Speaker 2: get selected for the boat. I went to Tokyo, we

1020
00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:09,200
Speaker 2: came forth, and so I was a paralympian, so what's

1021
00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:11,359
Speaker 2: the next best thing, Let's go winning gold at all.

1022
00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:14,960
Speaker 3: And were you training separately or you in the same place.

1023
00:46:15,160 --> 00:46:19,000
Speaker 2: Originally we're training separately leading into the Australian Trials into

1024
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:22,359
Speaker 2: March twenty twenty three. So I was I was down

1025
00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:24,800
Speaker 2: home in the fast south coast of New South Wales

1026
00:46:24,840 --> 00:46:27,399
Speaker 2: in town Gordon Aruma and then the start of twenty

1027
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:29,400
Speaker 2: twenty three I moved back to Canberra to work at

1028
00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:31,960
Speaker 2: the hospital and train at Actas and Jed was training

1029
00:46:32,040 --> 00:46:35,520
Speaker 2: down in Adelaide. And then yeah, we went to trials

1030
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:38,399
Speaker 2: and got selected. So I was like, well a camp

1031
00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:41,120
Speaker 2: We both had had the discussions that a camp base

1032
00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:43,399
Speaker 2: system wasn't going to get us the results that we wanted,

1033
00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:46,200
Speaker 2: which was how the program was set up. So I

1034
00:46:46,280 --> 00:46:48,560
Speaker 2: made the decision, said to Jedi, I move into Adelaide.

1035
00:46:48,719 --> 00:46:51,960
Speaker 2: So in May twenty twenty three, I fitted everything I

1036
00:46:52,040 --> 00:46:54,719
Speaker 2: could squeeze into my Toyota Corolla and durve to Adelaide

1037
00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:56,600
Speaker 2: and yeah, the rest is kind of history now.

1038
00:46:57,320 --> 00:47:02,920
Speaker 3: And so talk through that moment power Paralympics. There's obviously

1039
00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:07,239
Speaker 3: the build up, but crossing that line with Jed and

1040
00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:12,480
Speaker 3: you guys celebrating first Paralympic rowing gold medal for Australia.

1041
00:47:12,840 --> 00:47:15,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's something written in the history books. That's never

1042
00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:18,360
Speaker 2: going to be taken off either of us. And there

1043
00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:20,480
Speaker 2: wouldn't be anyone in the world that I would rather

1044
00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:23,040
Speaker 2: have done it with. Thank Jed and I there eighteen

1045
00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:24,840
Speaker 2: months two years that we had in the lead up

1046
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:27,920
Speaker 2: to the Games. You know, it's not it's not as

1047
00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:30,200
Speaker 2: easy as people might think it is from the outside.

1048
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:32,920
Speaker 2: Like rowing is a hard sport. So we were training

1049
00:47:33,040 --> 00:47:35,439
Speaker 2: six days a week, doing two to three sessions a day,

1050
00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:37,880
Speaker 2: and they were hard sessions. You've got your mixture of

1051
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:40,400
Speaker 2: your water sessions, you've got your gym, you've got your

1052
00:47:40,400 --> 00:47:42,880
Speaker 2: cross training, so you erg your cycling, whatever else you

1053
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:45,239
Speaker 2: can fit in. But then I was also working at

1054
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:47,719
Speaker 2: the Women's and Children's hospital as a midwife four days

1055
00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:49,640
Speaker 2: a fortnight and doing night shift, so I was doing

1056
00:47:49,719 --> 00:47:52,360
Speaker 2: shift work on top of the trying to squeeze in

1057
00:47:52,400 --> 00:47:55,720
Speaker 2: that many trainings, and then there's life and personal things.

1058
00:47:56,680 --> 00:47:59,239
Speaker 2: But we had a really good support crew and that's

1059
00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:02,960
Speaker 2: what got us through that time together. So going to Paris,

1060
00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:05,160
Speaker 2: Jed's family was there, my family was there. It was

1061
00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:08,520
Speaker 2: the first family time my family have come overseas and

1062
00:48:08,600 --> 00:48:12,960
Speaker 2: seen me race internationally. And sitting on that well the

1063
00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:14,880
Speaker 2: first goal was to get through the heat and win

1064
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:16,560
Speaker 2: the heat, so we got straight into the final and

1065
00:48:16,640 --> 00:48:19,360
Speaker 2: we did that, and we did that well. We hadn't

1066
00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:21,399
Speaker 2: fully gelled as much as we hoped for that race,

1067
00:48:21,480 --> 00:48:23,960
Speaker 2: but we learnt from it and we were like, we've

1068
00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:27,160
Speaker 2: just made the A final and that was like super exciting.

1069
00:48:27,239 --> 00:48:31,759
Speaker 2: And so we're sitting on that start line and there

1070
00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:34,279
Speaker 2: was like just that moment. We give each other a

1071
00:48:34,320 --> 00:48:36,680
Speaker 2: fist bump and we're like, we've got this, and then

1072
00:48:37,920 --> 00:48:40,080
Speaker 2: take a few deep breaths and then deep breaths and

1073
00:48:40,160 --> 00:48:42,359
Speaker 2: then the hoot a butt light went and then seven

1074
00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:45,799
Speaker 2: minutes and twenty one seconds later, you know we were there.

1075
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:49,560
Speaker 2: We crossed the finish lane first. And it's like most people,

1076
00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:51,640
Speaker 2: if anyone's kind of heard our story, they've heard that

1077
00:48:51,840 --> 00:48:54,719
Speaker 2: Jed's stroke coach, so his little device that has all

1078
00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:57,080
Speaker 2: our information so tells us how fast we're going, our

1079
00:48:57,120 --> 00:49:00,359
Speaker 2: stroke rate, the distance that died two hundred, one hundred

1080
00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:02,400
Speaker 2: and fifty meters into the race, and he's never raced

1081
00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:05,320
Speaker 2: a race without it, and so two hundred and fifty

1082
00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:07,600
Speaker 2: meters in, he's like Nicky's stroke coaches off and I

1083
00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:10,120
Speaker 2: just went yep, and then I started just feeding him

1084
00:49:10,160 --> 00:49:14,120
Speaker 2: the data that he needed and no more communication. That's

1085
00:49:14,239 --> 00:49:16,640
Speaker 2: only communication was was just yep, and gave him that.

1086
00:49:16,880 --> 00:49:20,200
Speaker 2: And then so coming into the one k, we will

1087
00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:24,040
Speaker 2: point zero three seconds in front, which is nothing in rowing.

1088
00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:26,120
Speaker 2: So it was tight and everyone's like he gave us

1089
00:49:26,160 --> 00:49:27,879
Speaker 2: a heart attack, and I was like, no, it's fun.

1090
00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:30,040
Speaker 2: We knew what was going on because our push wasn't

1091
00:49:30,080 --> 00:49:32,720
Speaker 2: there yet. Then I was like, coming into the thirteen

1092
00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:34,520
Speaker 2: hundred meters, we had a little bit of push and

1093
00:49:34,560 --> 00:49:36,880
Speaker 2: that's when we started getting in front. And then I

1094
00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:38,840
Speaker 2: remember the closer we got to the grand stand, it

1095
00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:41,000
Speaker 2: was just getting louder and louder, and I could just

1096
00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:43,120
Speaker 2: see us and feel us making more of a gain.

1097
00:49:44,239 --> 00:49:46,640
Speaker 2: And then I was like, oh my jee we had

1098
00:49:46,719 --> 00:49:48,959
Speaker 2: last three hundred meters is where we did our last push,

1099
00:49:49,000 --> 00:49:51,399
Speaker 2: and I'm just like yelling at Jed. I'm like, come on, Jed,

1100
00:49:51,520 --> 00:49:54,759
Speaker 2: more more Jed. And then I could see the bubble line,

1101
00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:56,600
Speaker 2: the finish line. They did this like little bubble line.

1102
00:49:56,680 --> 00:49:58,880
Speaker 2: I could see it. And then I caught a crab,

1103
00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:01,200
Speaker 2: so like my all got stuck in the water, but

1104
00:50:01,320 --> 00:50:03,279
Speaker 2: I got it out quick enough. I reckon if I

1105
00:50:03,400 --> 00:50:06,360
Speaker 2: didn't save that. We potentially could have like come second

1106
00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:08,960
Speaker 2: or something, but we looked back on the footage and

1107
00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:11,520
Speaker 2: you can't really tell either. And he's like, mate, you're good.

1108
00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:13,239
Speaker 2: No one can see that. And I was like yes.

1109
00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:15,920
Speaker 2: And then we crossed the finish line and I was

1110
00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:20,759
Speaker 2: just like, Jen, we did it, We did it. We

1111
00:50:20,840 --> 00:50:23,960
Speaker 2: want gold. And then it's like relief because you've just

1112
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:27,080
Speaker 2: finished this seven minutes and twenty one seconds and rowing

1113
00:50:27,160 --> 00:50:29,200
Speaker 2: as hard as you can, like you've never rowed that

1114
00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:33,600
Speaker 2: hard before, and the lactate you've never felt like that before. Either.

1115
00:50:33,640 --> 00:50:36,759
Speaker 2: Your lungs are on fire. You feel like you're breathing flames.

1116
00:50:37,040 --> 00:50:39,920
Speaker 2: You've been working that hard. And then it's just like

1117
00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:42,160
Speaker 2: you take your breath and you're like, we just want gold,

1118
00:50:42,480 --> 00:50:44,560
Speaker 2: and then you find whatever energy you have to let

1119
00:50:44,640 --> 00:50:47,400
Speaker 2: out a big cheer and then you're just dead and

1120
00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:49,960
Speaker 2: it's just like Jed's legs out in the water. This

1121
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:51,759
Speaker 2: was the first time I've ever lied down in the

1122
00:50:51,800 --> 00:50:55,640
Speaker 2: boat after race. And then the safety people were like, Australia,

1123
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:57,960
Speaker 2: are you okay? That's like the picture of me like

1124
00:50:58,080 --> 00:51:00,880
Speaker 2: laying down with my thumb in the Enba dead. But

1125
00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:04,320
Speaker 2: I'm okay, like we just found gold and to be

1126
00:51:04,400 --> 00:51:06,480
Speaker 2: able to do that in that moment with Jed, like

1127
00:51:07,239 --> 00:51:09,200
Speaker 2: that hug when we got on the pontoon, when we

1128
00:51:09,719 --> 00:51:11,279
Speaker 2: had the energy to get out of the boat and

1129
00:51:11,360 --> 00:51:14,440
Speaker 2: that embrace. There'll never be a hug like that before me,

1130
00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:17,879
Speaker 2: since like you've just achieved this dream and this goal

1131
00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:21,000
Speaker 2: of winning gold at the Paralympics, with one of your

1132
00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:24,600
Speaker 2: mates representing Australia, with your family and friends in the crowd.

1133
00:51:25,120 --> 00:51:30,280
Speaker 2: It was just absolutely amazing and so surreal and exciting

1134
00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:34,880
Speaker 2: and fun and just relief. Relief was a big emotion

1135
00:51:35,080 --> 00:51:35,440
Speaker 2: that day.

1136
00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:39,600
Speaker 3: It so clearly sticks in my mind your post race interview,

1137
00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:41,560
Speaker 3: like I just remember watching it on the Telly because

1138
00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:44,840
Speaker 3: I think your friendship was like you could just like

1139
00:51:44,960 --> 00:51:47,759
Speaker 3: feel it through the TV like that. That interview was

1140
00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:51,399
Speaker 3: quite something like I remember like cheering for you guys

1141
00:51:51,440 --> 00:51:53,279
Speaker 3: and being so stoked when you won. But to me,

1142
00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:55,520
Speaker 3: that interview was like it almost took it to another

1143
00:51:55,640 --> 00:51:57,760
Speaker 3: level seeing how I don't know, it just felt really

1144
00:51:58,239 --> 00:52:01,960
Speaker 3: authentic and genuine and just really just like Ozsie, I

1145
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,560
Speaker 3: don't know, yeah, and that's exactly what it was.

1146
00:52:04,719 --> 00:52:07,480
Speaker 2: Nothing like nothing was ever calculated like that. Was just

1147
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:10,000
Speaker 2: us being raw, true and honest, and that was just

1148
00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:15,520
Speaker 2: raw emotion for us that day. And yeah, it was

1149
00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:17,840
Speaker 2: really special. And like, one thing I love is the

1150
00:52:17,960 --> 00:52:21,759
Speaker 2: photo of us like jumping on the dais like just

1151
00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:23,560
Speaker 2: before to get medals, and you can just see how

1152
00:52:23,680 --> 00:52:25,880
Speaker 2: excited and overwhelmed we are. Because I said to I

1153
00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:27,800
Speaker 2: was like, how do we celebrate this? What do we do?

1154
00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:30,239
Speaker 2: And He's like, I don't know, And then I just

1155
00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:32,480
Speaker 2: started jumping, So then he started jumping and then like,

1156
00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:35,040
Speaker 2: all right, if you're jumping, I'm jumping. We're in this together,

1157
00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:36,920
Speaker 2: you know. And it was just it was just us.

1158
00:52:37,160 --> 00:52:40,120
Speaker 2: And yeah, I don't really remember much of the interviews.

1159
00:52:40,160 --> 00:52:42,080
Speaker 2: I'd have to look them up, but I had that

1160
00:52:42,280 --> 00:52:44,040
Speaker 2: comment a couple of times, and I think it just

1161
00:52:44,120 --> 00:52:47,200
Speaker 2: showed just how authentic Jed and I were and the

1162
00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:50,239
Speaker 2: friendship that we had between us was really amazing and

1163
00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:50,960
Speaker 2: something special.

1164
00:52:51,239 --> 00:52:53,719
Speaker 3: That's awesome. You've touched a couple of times about that,

1165
00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:57,000
Speaker 3: like the power mob and the Paralympic community. What has

1166
00:52:57,080 --> 00:53:00,200
Speaker 3: that done in just that process of you being able

1167
00:53:00,200 --> 00:53:03,239
Speaker 3: bodied athlete to accepting yourself as a person with a disability.

1168
00:53:03,400 --> 00:53:06,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, the biggest thing is it gave me an identity again.

1169
00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:09,920
Speaker 2: You know, from the beginning as little kids, sport was

1170
00:53:09,960 --> 00:53:12,000
Speaker 2: the first time I ever felt like I belonged somewhere.

1171
00:53:12,239 --> 00:53:15,800
Speaker 2: And then I had that for so long, and I

1172
00:53:16,719 --> 00:53:19,200
Speaker 2: that was taken away from me by something that wasn't

1173
00:53:19,239 --> 00:53:22,680
Speaker 2: my choice. I had a career ending injury in rugby,

1174
00:53:22,719 --> 00:53:24,080
Speaker 2: and I had no idea what was out there. I

1175
00:53:24,120 --> 00:53:27,440
Speaker 2: remember always watching the Paralympics, but never like I remember

1176
00:53:27,480 --> 00:53:30,200
Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen when it was the Rio Olympics. I

1177
00:53:30,280 --> 00:53:32,839
Speaker 2: was in my laundroom, like in loundroom because I wasn't

1178
00:53:32,840 --> 00:53:35,680
Speaker 2: sleeping much, watching the Paralympics, and never thought for one

1179
00:53:35,719 --> 00:53:37,800
Speaker 2: second that that could be me, Like I had no idea,

1180
00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:40,360
Speaker 2: and then so becoming a part of the mob. It

1181
00:53:40,480 --> 00:53:43,359
Speaker 2: gave me. The biggest thing was identity as an athlete again.

1182
00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:46,280
Speaker 2: But that also helps me find me as a person

1183
00:53:46,360 --> 00:53:49,080
Speaker 2: again because that's always been such a big part of me.

1184
00:53:50,120 --> 00:53:53,840
Speaker 2: And having people accept me for me, like no judgment

1185
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:57,080
Speaker 2: for my leg, like my leg. My scars are quite

1186
00:53:57,200 --> 00:54:01,319
Speaker 2: obvious and hey, scars are sexy. I learned to love them,

1187
00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:03,520
Speaker 2: but originally I didn't. I really struggled with them. But

1188
00:54:03,600 --> 00:54:06,960
Speaker 2: having people accept you and not just run across the

1189
00:54:07,040 --> 00:54:09,279
Speaker 2: street and go, oh my god, what happened to you?

1190
00:54:09,880 --> 00:54:11,800
Speaker 2: You know, and just looking at you as an object

1191
00:54:11,880 --> 00:54:14,960
Speaker 2: for someone who treats if you're human and that is

1192
00:54:15,040 --> 00:54:16,640
Speaker 2: like the last thing they care about. They want to

1193
00:54:16,680 --> 00:54:19,080
Speaker 2: know you as a person in your story and how

1194
00:54:19,120 --> 00:54:21,000
Speaker 2: you got here and that we're all banding together to

1195
00:54:21,080 --> 00:54:23,680
Speaker 2: represent Australia and be a part of that is what

1196
00:54:23,800 --> 00:54:27,359
Speaker 2: it's done for me. It gave me an identity again.

1197
00:54:27,440 --> 00:54:30,040
Speaker 2: It gave me a place of belonging and you know,

1198
00:54:30,280 --> 00:54:31,960
Speaker 2: a place where I want to be a role model

1199
00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:35,680
Speaker 2: for others and show them that you know, dream big

1200
00:54:35,800 --> 00:54:39,240
Speaker 2: and never give up no matter what your ability, your sex,

1201
00:54:39,480 --> 00:54:43,440
Speaker 2: you know your sexuality, that they are things that are

1202
00:54:43,520 --> 00:54:46,040
Speaker 2: going to help you get those dreams that you want.

1203
00:54:46,040 --> 00:54:49,160
Speaker 2: They're not going to hinder you. So be you and

1204
00:54:49,320 --> 00:54:51,759
Speaker 2: dream big and go for it. And being a part

1205
00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:55,040
Speaker 2: of the Paralympic mobs really helps me realize that that's awesome.

1206
00:54:55,160 --> 00:54:57,719
Speaker 3: And has advocating for the queer community been a big

1207
00:54:57,760 --> 00:54:59,880
Speaker 3: part of your life as an athlete as well?

1208
00:55:00,160 --> 00:55:04,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely that hasn't always come easy for me. Realizing

1209
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:07,279
Speaker 2: being a role model and being an advocate for the

1210
00:55:07,360 --> 00:55:10,800
Speaker 2: queer community came in the first year of their Australians

1211
00:55:10,800 --> 00:55:12,879
Speaker 2: Shoes Sport Throb with Pride program. So I was part

1212
00:55:12,920 --> 00:55:16,520
Speaker 2: of the first program and I didn't really know what

1213
00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:17,800
Speaker 2: I was going to get out of it, what I

1214
00:55:17,880 --> 00:55:19,879
Speaker 2: wanted out of it. And then just being a part

1215
00:55:19,920 --> 00:55:21,759
Speaker 2: of that and listening to the stories and getting to

1216
00:55:21,920 --> 00:55:25,200
Speaker 2: chat to people, I realized, hey, this is a really

1217
00:55:25,239 --> 00:55:28,120
Speaker 2: awesome platform that when I was this little girl, when

1218
00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:31,040
Speaker 2: I was twelve years old, I didn't have any female

1219
00:55:31,120 --> 00:55:33,239
Speaker 2: athlete role models to look up to, let alone really

1220
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:37,960
Speaker 2: any queer ones, you know, male female, anyone. So I

1221
00:55:38,040 --> 00:55:41,640
Speaker 2: was just like, I'm actually really comfortable with who I am.

1222
00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:45,920
Speaker 2: Like I'm queer, I'm comfortable with who I am, and

1223
00:55:46,040 --> 00:55:47,799
Speaker 2: this is a way that I could be a role

1224
00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:50,200
Speaker 2: model for others to show them that you can be

1225
00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:52,520
Speaker 2: queer and be successful as an athlete, not just as

1226
00:55:52,560 --> 00:55:54,239
Speaker 2: an athlete. You can be a nurse, midwife, you can

1227
00:55:54,320 --> 00:55:56,880
Speaker 2: be anything and do that. And so that's what the

1228
00:55:56,960 --> 00:55:59,720
Speaker 2: Thravy Pride program taught me. And that's what I've really

1229
00:56:00,120 --> 00:56:02,279
Speaker 2: as time's going on and I've got more confidence and

1230
00:56:02,400 --> 00:56:06,520
Speaker 2: really found that identity. Realize that's one small thing I

1231
00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:08,240
Speaker 2: can do to give back to my community.

1232
00:56:08,560 --> 00:56:10,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's awesome. I've already said to you're going to

1233
00:56:10,560 --> 00:56:12,360
Speaker 3: be invited bout because you're in your teeth at Merge

1234
00:56:12,440 --> 00:56:16,239
Speaker 3: and you know yeaess coming for you, So you're welcome anytime.

1235
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:19,759
Speaker 3: So this question that you prepared for because you've been

1236
00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:22,000
Speaker 3: listening to the podcast, which I love. What is your

1237
00:56:22,040 --> 00:56:22,800
Speaker 3: favorite failure?

1238
00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:27,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such an easy one. My favorite failure is

1239
00:56:28,160 --> 00:56:32,719
Speaker 2: my knee money failing me essentially in that dislocation. You know,

1240
00:56:32,840 --> 00:56:36,160
Speaker 2: it could come back to not making that Walleries camp

1241
00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:38,800
Speaker 2: and realizing, Okay, I'm not good enough. What do I

1242
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:41,160
Speaker 2: need to do? And that's when I decided I needed

1243
00:56:41,200 --> 00:56:42,759
Speaker 2: to train harder and do it. That's when I got

1244
00:56:42,800 --> 00:56:46,480
Speaker 2: back into rugby and led to the knee. But dislocating

1245
00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:49,720
Speaker 2: my knee, as traumatic as it is and it's terrible,

1246
00:56:49,760 --> 00:56:52,640
Speaker 2: it's been able to help me find the positives and

1247
00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:55,879
Speaker 2: turn that into something positive and amazing. If that didn't happen,

1248
00:56:56,040 --> 00:56:58,680
Speaker 2: I wouldn't be sitting here with you today as apparently

1249
00:56:58,719 --> 00:57:01,400
Speaker 2: pit Gold medalist. I wouldn't be sitting in front of

1250
00:57:01,480 --> 00:57:04,080
Speaker 2: you as a queer advocate, as the person I am today,

1251
00:57:04,120 --> 00:57:06,000
Speaker 2: and I wouldn't have met the people I've met along

1252
00:57:06,080 --> 00:57:10,480
Speaker 2: the journey. So I'm thankful that I've been able to

1253
00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:14,440
Speaker 2: turn that traumatic experience into such a massive positive And

1254
00:57:15,120 --> 00:57:16,200
Speaker 2: who knows what's next.

1255
00:57:17,040 --> 00:57:19,560
Speaker 3: Who has had the biggest impact on you as a person.

1256
00:57:20,560 --> 00:57:25,560
Speaker 2: But here's the impact on me. There's probably I can't

1257
00:57:25,640 --> 00:57:29,040
Speaker 2: just say one. My mom definitely has been a huge impact.

1258
00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:31,560
Speaker 2: My mom's always been there, always been there no matter what.

1259
00:57:31,720 --> 00:57:34,040
Speaker 2: Like I was one of four growing up, and all

1260
00:57:34,080 --> 00:57:36,320
Speaker 2: four of us kids played sport no matter what. She

1261
00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:39,080
Speaker 2: made sure we all got to sport and always supported

1262
00:57:39,160 --> 00:57:41,080
Speaker 2: us no matter what it was. She never really thought

1263
00:57:41,120 --> 00:57:42,880
Speaker 2: about it. It's like, Okay, cool, you want to do this,

1264
00:57:43,040 --> 00:57:45,880
Speaker 2: Let's do it. And then my sister Megan, she's been

1265
00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:49,440
Speaker 2: there since ninety one. She's always been there playing sport,

1266
00:57:49,480 --> 00:57:52,840
Speaker 2: but also been a big supporter an advocate, especially with

1267
00:57:52,960 --> 00:57:55,200
Speaker 2: my knee as well and the sport. You know, those

1268
00:57:55,280 --> 00:57:57,160
Speaker 2: days where I just felt like I couldn't do it anymore,

1269
00:57:57,200 --> 00:57:59,640
Speaker 2: she was a big person who was like, you've got this, Nicks,

1270
00:58:00,360 --> 00:58:01,920
Speaker 2: you can do this if anyone's going to do it

1271
00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:03,959
Speaker 2: to you. And then the other person who's a really

1272
00:58:04,040 --> 00:58:07,080
Speaker 2: big influence in my life, bless her cotton socks will

1273
00:58:07,080 --> 00:58:10,480
Speaker 2: be Van Nanapam. Oh, yeah, she's not with us anymore.

1274
00:58:10,520 --> 00:58:13,240
Speaker 2: But Nanapam was always just a humble person who always

1275
00:58:13,320 --> 00:58:16,320
Speaker 2: gave back to the community and never asked anything. And

1276
00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:19,080
Speaker 2: she was just so humble.

1277
00:58:19,320 --> 00:58:19,520
Speaker 3: You know.

1278
00:58:19,640 --> 00:58:21,720
Speaker 2: It was just like you gotta go with the good

1279
00:58:21,760 --> 00:58:24,240
Speaker 2: and the bad, Nikki. You know, hate is such a

1280
00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:27,400
Speaker 2: strong word, just like those little just coming from this

1281
00:58:27,440 --> 00:58:29,680
Speaker 2: little old nan who never swore until she got her

1282
00:58:29,720 --> 00:58:33,400
Speaker 2: Alzheimer's and then she almost swore a lot. But she

1283
00:58:33,640 --> 00:58:36,080
Speaker 2: was always there to like ground you and bring you

1284
00:58:36,160 --> 00:58:38,520
Speaker 2: back to earth or remind you the good things and

1285
00:58:38,640 --> 00:58:41,720
Speaker 2: focusing on those good things in life. So they'd probably

1286
00:58:41,720 --> 00:58:43,320
Speaker 2: be the three with these people in my life.

1287
00:58:43,560 --> 00:58:46,480
Speaker 3: I love that. Thank you so much for sharing your

1288
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Speaker 3: story today. I've had tears multiple times, but thank you.

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Speaker 3: Like it's just like quite amazing, I think, to see

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Speaker 3: the way you've moved through it all, like with this

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Speaker 3: real grace and like you've taken so many lessons from

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Speaker 3: it and just built this beautiful, amazing life that's incredibly

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Speaker 3: successful too, with a Paralympic gold medal around your next week.

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Speaker 3: Congratulations and thank you.

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Speaker 2: So much, Yes, thanks you. You so Hammy Chloe appreciate it.

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Speaker 3: Thanks so much for listening. If you got something out

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Speaker 3: of this episode, I would absolutely love it if you

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Speaker 3: could send it on to one person who you think

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Speaker 3: might enjoy it. Otherwise, subscribe, give us a review, and

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Speaker 3: make sure you follow us on Instagram at the Female

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Speaker 3: Athlete Project to stay up to date with podcast episodes,

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Speaker 3: merch drops, and of course, news and stories about epic

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Speaker 3: female athletes