Mitch Larkin - The Olympic Dream

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Category: Mitch Larkin

Matt: Can you remember what emotions you went through when you made the team?

Mitch: To be honest I wasn’t really thinking to straight at the time. I was definitely very excited and I guess a sigh of relief. I had put in a lot of training hours and work for it to finally pay off was an incredible feeling. I was unable to sleep that night got to bed about 4am the next morning.  

Matt: Has it been a surreal Olympic prep, has the time flown by?

Mitch: It has been a tough Olympic prep, with training being lifted up another level, but yes the weeks have definitely flown by. Spent a lot of time traveling and racing, but I have been very happy with how everything is going.

Matt: Do you remember the point in your life when you first said to yourself " I want to be an Olympian"?

Mitch: Yes, it was 2000 Olympics in Sydney. I was 8 years old and I in fact had a broken arm so I was able to stay at home and watch most of the games over the two weeks. I told mum that imagine what it would be like to go to the Olympics one day. But I guess I really began to believe that making an Olympic team might be possible during the 2008 Olympics seeing the team come home and hearing all of the stories I knew that, that’s what I wanted!

Matt: What does it mean for Mitch Larkin to be representing Australia and the Olympics?

Mitch: It’s an absolute honour, to represent your country at any level I think is an extraordinary effort. This year being an Olympic games is just that little bit more special and the support for friends, family and people I rarely even know emphasises how much of an honour it actually is.    

Matt: What will be involved for you from now until London?

Mitch: Lots of training and lots of travel, our squad at St Peters Western and myself are heading over to Hawaii for a training camp, then off to Vancouver for a week of racing, then on to California to continue another week of racing, after that back home to Brisbane for a few weeks of training. Then from there we leave three weeks before the games start and head over to Montpellier in France to continue training. Then onto Manchester to meet with the entire swim team then heading on to London a few days before the games start.

Matt: What training will you be doing?

Mitch: For me I do 10 swim sessions a week plus 2 gym sessions and 2 core sessions. All the sessions can vary depending on the time leading up to the Olympics or type of session.

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

Mitch: I am a supporter of the Brisbane Broncos along with being a big fan of Formula One and Moto GP.

Matt: If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Mitch: That’s a tough one, I wouldn’t really mind. But I would have to say Christian Bale.

Matt: If you could be a superhero, what would your superpowers be?

Mitch: Id love to be Ironman I am a huge fan of all of his gadgets, although Batman is a close second.

Matt: What is the first thing you packed before heading overseas beside the obvious swimming gear?

Mitch: Passport, haha although that is important my laptop and hard drive are always packed first, it helps make travelling and passing time between sessions easier.

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

Mitch: Just a huge thank you, some people don’t understand how just that little bit of support can make a huge difference and make the tougher times that little bit easier.