FIRST ATHLETES SELECTED TO THE 2012 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TEAM

Posted in Swimming

Olympics 22 Dec, 2011: Today the Australian Olympic Committee announced Melissa Gorman and Ky Hurst as the first athletes selected to the 2012 Australian Olympic Team.

They will compete in the gruelling 10km open water marathon which will take place in London’s iconic Hyde Park from 16 – 17 August 2012.

Gorman and Hurst earned their spots on the Team after they finished fourth and fifth respectively at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai.

Gorman, who was new to the 10km distance at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, finished a credible 15th, but says she has learned a lot since then and is looking forward to racing in London.

“I was quite naive in Beijing,” the 26-year-old Queenslander said. “I have become a lot more tactical and strategic since then and have learned a lot not only about my own race but my competitors too.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be one of the first selected athletes, a very different feeling to Beijing where we were one of the last. It’s a big relief and I’m feeling a lot less pressure – just knowing that I can focus my training on the Olympics over the next few months, and not on qualifying.”

Gorman will undertake a heavy training load over the first half of 2012, incorporating not only open water events but trialling for the 800m pool event at the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide (March 15-22).

“The 800m and the 10km are very different races but when I train I do a mix of sprint and endurance anyway so they actually work well together. A 10km event often comes down to a sprint finish so if I know I can produce a solid 800m, then I know I have what it takes to sprint to a medal. It’s a healthy balance.”

Champion Ironman Hurst, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest surf swimmers of his generation, turned his sights to open water swimming when it was named as a new Olympic event for 2008.

After finishing 11th in Beijing, Hurst went back to Ironman but was compelled to swim at the 2011 Australian Open Water Championships - his first 10km marathon swim since Beijing. He won the event in a time of 1 hour 55:04.30, giving him a spot on the World Championship team and the beginnings to a second Olympic dream.

“Even leading into 2008 I believed that to be able to be a part of the Australian team in London would be amazing,” Hurst said. “Because swimming is a huge part of my Ironman career I knew I could make this goal a reality once again.

With seven months remaining until the Games, Hurst is pleased with his preparation and is optimistic and realistic about his goals for London.

“Being selected is still sinking in. I feel as if I have a second chance at the Olympics to really step up and swim well. Being selected this far out has been perfect for my preparation.

“I’m there to do one job and that’s to get the best out of myself. I want to be able to walk away from that swim knowing I gave it everything I had.”

Hurst and Gorman are the first of approximately 420 athletes who are expected to make up the 2012 Australian Olympic Team.

Chef de Mission Nick Green was thrilled to select the first athletes to represent Australia and is excited to reach the first step in forming the Team to take to London.

“I welcome both Melissa and Ky into the 2012 Australian Olympic Team,” Green said. “I look forward to welcoming them into the village next July and watching them compete in the Serpentine.”

NAME	AGE	BORN	LIVES
Melissa Gorman	26	Sydney, NSW	Brisbane, QLD
Ky Hurst	30	Nambour, QLD	Sydney, NSW