Paris Olympics inspires young Concordia student to reach for the stars
With the Paris Olympics wrapping up this week, a young Concordia Lutheran College student has her sights firmly fixed on wearing the green and gold in the future. Fourteen-year-old Lisa Richards placed second in the 100 and 200 metres backstroke at the Australian Schools National Swimming Championship this year emulating her hero Kaylee McKeown who swam the same program in 2016.
“I started competitive swimming when I was 11. There was a new swimming coach at Chinchilla, and he encouraged me to push harder,” Lisa said this week.
“He told my mum I should start training every day as I had potential, and we would drive 45 minutes after waking up at 4am to get to training 5 days a week.
“I loved it. I could see the training paying off through the times I was doing and that is really satisfying.”
After moving to Toowoomba to attend Concordia she wakes up ‘late’ at 4.30am to start training at 5.30am.
“Mum and Dad take me to training every morning. Mum makes sure I wake up and packs my breakfast and lunch while getting my brothers and sisters ready for school,” Lisa said.
“Concordia is a great school and has motivated me to do better and they are also showing me that academic results are also important as part of the process.
“I swam against about 650 swimmers at the National titles with some great results in the backstroke and in the State titles I also grabbed medals in the individual medley events, so I still have work to do to be my best.
“I train for swimming about 20 hours a week with about four hours a week in the gym working on strength and my goal is to be Olympian.”
“I will swim before an exam or before school photos if I get a chance, the school has been great with working around me.
“I will be at my peak in Brisbane 2032, but I am also aiming to be in the 2028 Olympics if I can. When I am in the water, I feel relaxed and calm, and I am hoping my dedication eventually pays off.”
