The young Australian athlete who learned to swim in rock pools and rivers while on a two-year Outback camping trip as a child has just made an Olympic final.
Maddy Gough, who set off on the adventure of her life as a four-year-old, posted a time of 15.56.80 in Tokyo to move into the 1500-metre medal race, where she will line up against the likes of American superstar, Katie Ledecky.
At the Olympic Trials in Adelaide in June, Maddy broke the Australian record in the 1500m freestyle and, her time of 15.46.13, stands as an Australian record.
With her parents and two brothers, Maddy spent 24 months exploring every corner of the country in a 60 Series LandCruiser and a tent.
“While I loved everything about it, I mostly loved the water,” she told the Grey Nomads last April. “We swam at rock pools and rivers, beneath waterfalls and in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean … and I think I was as happy as it is possible to be.”
Fast forward 16 years or so, and that love of the water has grown into something quite extraordinary.
Maddy will now race in the Olympic final at 12.54pm (AEST) tomorrow, Wednesday, July 28.
And, it seems the Olympic pool in Tokyo will soon count among her favourite places to swim … alongside the likes of Fruit Bat Falls, Bell Gorge, and Douglas Hot Springs!
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