Competing on the world stage at the Olympics

In July this year, Fintona’s Running Coach and Old Fintonian, Georgia Griffith (’14) competed at the Tokyo Olympics in the 1500 metres event. Whilst her time did not qualify her for the finals, the entire Fintona community was cheering her on and was very proud of her selection in the Australian Olympic Team.

With so much uncertainty in the world, Georgia said it was a challenge to stay focused and positive in the lead up. Georgia worked through this by directing her focus onto the things she knew she could control such as training and rehabilitation. Georgia had suffered quite a few injuries so there were big question marks when qualifying for Tokyo, and then later even making it to the start line.

‘After a nervous week waiting to find out if I would be on the Olympic team, getting the confirmation was an absolute dream come true. My dad had very kindly kept me company that day and it was great to be able to share that excitement with him. I was honestly over the moon and couldn’t keep the smile off my face for weeks,’ said Georgia. The biggest impact COVID had on Georgia’s Olympic experience was not having her family, partner, coach, or friends present. ‘It honestly felt like such a team effort in getting to the start line, so it did feel different not having any of them physically present to share this moment. But I knew they were all watching and cheering me on back home so I took comfort in that,’ said Georgia.

The Australian Olympic Committee recommended that interactions with other countries’ competitors were kept to a minimum at the Olympics. This meant no mingling at the dining hall; however, Georgia said that you could still interact outside in the village and sometimes on the transport buses with competitors from other countries. Despite restrictions, she was, however, somewhat pleasantly surprised that the lead up to the race and the race itself, felt quite similar to previous international competitions. ‘I think it has been really important for me to reflect on my season as a whole and see even making it to the start line as something to be proud of.’

‘Whilst there were no crowds, there was still the same level of competition and the same level of nerves and the same (if not more) number of friends and family watching me back home,’ said Georgia.

‘I felt both incredibly nervous and excited to enter the stadium for my race. On one hand, I was quite anxious that I hadn’t had an ideal lead up training and injury wise, and on the other hand I was also very excited that I had made it to the start line and was about to make a long-term dream a reality.

‘A highlight of my Olympic experience was the supportive team atmosphere amongst the Australian athletics team. The Aussie athletes who had finished competing got completely into cheering and supporting the Aussies still competing, and it was awesome to be a part of that. Even though athletics is an individual sport, moments like these remind me that everyone is working towards the same goal of being at their best, and it is was special to share that with my teammates,’ said Georgia. When asked what she learnt from her Olympic experience, Georgia said that one lesson was not to compare yourself to others and recognise everyone is on their own journey. ‘My whole season and even race really felt like a battle, and whilst I was initially disappointed in my result, I think it has been really important for me to reflect on my season as a whole and see even making it to the start line as something to be proud of,’ she said.

Since her return to Melbourne, Georgia has been focusing on making her body stronger to handle a full load of training. Next year, she will be working towards qualifying for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the World Championships in Oregon. 2022 will certainly be a busy year for Georgia.

The Fintona community congratulates Georgia on her outstanding achievement of competing at the Tokyo Olympics and wishes her all the best for the upcoming athletics season.