Swimmers training at Narrabeen on Wednesday afternoon were treated with a wonderful surprise visit from a Rio Olympian. A member of the Gold Medal winning Australian Womens Sevens Rugby squad, Alicia Quirk, spent some time with some very lucky swimmers before their training session.
She described her amazing experiences in Rio and how it felt with friends and family there to support her. Thanks to our very own Sue Dynon, the swimmers had the opportunity to chat with and ask Alicia many questions. She had brought her Gold Medal (weighing a hefty 500g) with her to show Sue and the swimmers and she allowed them all to wear it and take multiple selfies with it. To the swimmers’ amazement she explained that her team trained at Narrabeen three times per day for about two hours each session!
When asked if she’d always played Rugby she explained that no, she was relatively new to the sport having only played for the past three years. She had tried many sports when she was younger including swimming and she had also represented Australia in Touch Football. In 2014, she was selected into the Australian Women’s Sevens team and has absolutely loved it ever since.
In her spare time she studies, and will finish her Physiotherapy degree at the end of this year. Alicia has even done some of her practicals at the Narrabeen Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre next door to the pool.
Alicia commanded great respect from our young swimmers and was a true inspiration to all.