Melissa Gorman - Oceania Swimming Championships

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Category: Melissa Gorman

Matt: Congrats on taking out the 10km Open Water Swim?

Mel: Thankyou, its always good to come away with a win regardless of what phase of your preparation you are in, so I was happy to get another race under my belt leading into Olympics.

Matt: Good hit out leading into the Olympics?

Mel: Yeh, it was definitely a good way to shake off the cobwebs leading into London. I don’t get too many opportunities to race 10km swims, so I like to make the most of them when I can. This race in particular was really interesting for me as the boys and girls raced at the same time, so whilst I won the girls race by about 9 minutes, I was able to challenge myself and try to stay with the top boys for as long as possible. I ended up finishing third overall, behind our two Aussie boys, Trent Grimsey and Rhys Mainstone.

Matt: Give us an insight into your training regime leading into London?

Mel: A typical training week for me involves 10 sessions in the pool. The sessions can range anywhere from 5 to 10km each, depending on the type of work involved, but generally I’ll end up swimming around 70km each week. On top of that I do two sessions in the gym and three sessions on the bike.

Matt: Do you wake-up some mornings and have to pinch yourself that in under 2 months you will be racing in London at the Olympics?

Mel: I honestly can’t believe how fast it has come around. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that I qualified for the London Games and was excited at the thought that I had just over a year to prepare. Now I’ve got less than 6 weeks before I will be heading off to Switzerland for my pre games training camp. I can’t wait. I get so excited thinking about it. My training has been going really well and I just need to make sure I stay healthy and give everything I have in these final 2 months of training.

Matt: Winter time now here in Australia, your training is based in a pool, how do you make sure you don't get sick?

Mel: Staying healthy is one of the toughest parts of being an elite athlete. When you push yourself to your limits everyday your immune system gets compromised and you’re prone to pick up pretty much any illness you come in contact with. For me, staying healthy is all about optimising my recovery. The guys at BodyScience have been amazing in helping me develop a recovery plan and providing me with all the supplements I need in the lead up to London, so I can’t thank them enough. On top of that, I just stay well hydrated, try to get a good night sleep every night and make sure I make time for a nap during the day if I start to feel run down.

Matt: You are sponsored by Aquadiva swimwear, who you model for, do you enjoy the modelling experience?

Mel: Yeh definitely, I love it. The modelling experience is all just a bit of fun for me. It’s something completely different to all the hard training I do and the team at Aquadiva are so friendly and encouraging. As swimmers we are mostly just seen in our caps and goggles so It’s nice to be able to let your hair down and just feel girly and pretty for a day

Matt: Do you have a favourite sport/team you support?

Mel: Through sport I have made so many friends in different sports and disciplines and I love to follow their progress. But team wise, I follow the Gold Coast Titans. They got off to a bit of a rocky start this year but they’re on their way back! One of my friends – William Zillman plays for them. I admire his dedication to training and his discipline to overcome injury and to become such an amazing player. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on. He has a bright future.

Matt: What will the next couple of months entail leading into London?

Mel: I’m sure the next couple of months are going to fly. I’m heading down to Evans head in NSW for an ocean swim this weekend, which will be my last ocean swim before my London. Then I will be joining the entire Australian Swim Team in Canberra from the 21 – 23 June for our last orientation camp and racing at the Grand Prix meet down there. Then I will have another couple of weeks of hard training before I leave for Switzerland on the 14^th July. Ky and I will be based there for 2 weeks, we’ll head into London for the Opening Ceremony, then back out to Manchester for our final training period before moving into the Olympic Village. Even just talking about it gets me excited. I can’t wait to walk out in the Opening Ceremony and really just soak up that Olympic Atmosphere.

Matt: Anything you would like to say to your fans?

Mel: I’d just like to say thankyou for your support. It means a lot to me to have people supporting me in the lead up to London. I appreciate all the words of encouragement and well wishes so feel free to contact me via my website www.melissagorman.com.au or follow me on Twitter @Mel_Gorman

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