The Olympics is the pinnacle of sport. It brings the world together in a way that is unlike anything else. The skill, resilience and perseverance shown by all athletes is unmatched. It’s impossible to watch and not feel proud and inspired to reach your own goals.

Growing up, I never thought that being an Olympian was within the realm of possibility for me. I thought it was reserved for those ‘superhuman’ athletes who were in a league of their own, so far ahead of the rest of us. I never dared to dream that that could be me.

And then in 2018, I found Weightlifting.

When I started, there were no clubs in Townsville and myself and my coach were thrown straight into the deep end of the Weightlifting world. I made my first international competition in 2019 and, after a tough campaign, narrowly missed a place on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic team.

Missing this team only made my fire burn brighter and I knew that I had to throw everything I could into the next four years leading into the Paris 2024 Olympics. During that time, I have been able to secure two top ten placings at World Championship events and I won silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. I’m very grateful for all the opportunities and successes I’ve had on and off the weightlifting platform, but it’s that Olympic dream that has always kept me coming back for more. I’m now just over halfway through my campaign to Paris, with two qualification comps left to do next year. I’ll have to fight hard, but I’m ready.

I love my sport, but it isn’t always easy. It’s becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to achieve this dream. The path is long, and it requires an abundance of courage and resilience to keep showing up, ready to work. I have always and will always do everything I can to be the best athlete I can be, on and off the competition platform – and the support I receive from all of you helps me to achieve this.

I have always felt that sport is bigger than just my own personal goals and dreams. I want to be able to show young up and coming athletes that they can be strong and courageous – regardless of their gender. I want to show kids that they can follow their passions and always dream big. I want to represent people from regional areas of Australia and show that you can still achieve great things outside of the big cities.

So many of you are willing to share your support – either by sharing knowledge and skills, listening to me work through the ups and downs, sharing kind words of encouragement, making sure I’m caffeinated, or by donating to help with competition and travel costs. None of it goes unnoticed, and I can’t explain how much this all means to me.

All of you share in a piece of my journey and I’ll do my best to make you all proud.

Thank you!