The World Aquatic Championships concluded yesterday in Doha, and our very own Summer Osborne was part of the NZ team. She competed in the 4x200 Women’s Freestyle relay heats team alongside Erika Fairweather, Laticia Transom, and Eve Thomas who set a new NZ record, qualified 2nd into the final, and also secured qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The finals team (Fairweather, Transom, Thomas and Caitlin Deans) continued this success and broke the NZ record again to finish 5th in the final. Earlier in the week, we caught up with Summer, and here is what she had to say…
Hey everyone,
I am currently here in Doha, Qatar at the World Aquatics Championships and am excited to take you through what a day looks like in the lead up to my race - the 4x200m freestyle relay!
The morning starts with breakfast in one of the athlete dining halls, which we share with all the other athletes staying at our hotel.
Check out the designs on these buses, how cool! We then take these buses to the competition pool, which is about a 30-minute trip.
The competition complex has 6 pools accommodating swimming and water polo. This is where I have been training in the lead up to my race and where I have been able to observe and learn from other World Champions and talented athletes!
Once training is done and we have watched our teammates swim in their respective heats, we make our way back to the hotel for lunch in the athlete dining hall. Now it’s time to rest until we travel back to the competition pool for the finals session.
Finals sessions are incredible to watch! The atmosphere of the arena makes the racing so intense and enjoyable. I fit in my last training session of the day before the finals sessions start. Being in an environment like a finals session is an unimaginable feeling, being able to watch the best swimmers in the world compete for medals, as well as my teammates.
We end the day with dinner and head back to our rooms to reset and get prepared for the next day. We may even watch the rest of the finals on TV if we leave early from the session.
Being part of a world champ team is an unforgettable experience. Working with New Zealand’s best athletes and coaches gives a lot of insight into how they train and become better athletes.
Thank you for reading along! I can’t wait to be home with the North Shore family as we continue to work towards Olympic trials in April.
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