Triathlete Fiona Livock is completing a 10km ocean swim this month to raise funds to help other Queensland athletes with a disability.
Having amniotic band syndrome, Fiona knows the difficulties athletes with a disability face on a daily basis and how expensive it is to buy equipment.
“I’m looking forward to this new goal I’m challenging myself to with my 10km ocean swim,” Fiona said.
“Training has been going fabulously with my super incredible coach working her magic to make this goal achievable.
“I’m doing this as a challenge for myself, and to help raise money to help other athletes with disabilities because finding the money for things like specialist equipment is never cheap.”
Fiona is donating 100 per cent of money raised on 30 June to Sporting Dreams, a not-for-profit set up by Sunshine Coast Paralympian swimmer and motivational speaker Marayke Jonkers in 2008.
There’s a GoFundMe page, or you can go to the website sportingdreams.org.au to make a tax deductible donation.
Fiona, who was a Sporting Dreams grant recipient in 2022, said it made a huge difference in her life and this was her way of saying ‘thanks’.
“I love a challenge and want to be able to help others,” Fiona said.
Fiona is also inviting other swimmers to join her in the water – for the whole distance, or just 2.5km.
Fiona’s syndrome means her hands and feet are deformed and one leg is shorter than the other which has a significant impact on the difference in strength between both legs.
Regardless, she pushes on. But she said it’s not always easy.
“I have a lot of mental health stuff, including PTSD, depression and anxiety,” she said.
“As a kid I was made fun of and laughed at if I didn’t get things perfect first go.
“Therefore, I quickly learned to give up.”
Fiona said she never learned to ride a bike as a kid, however now competes in triathlons.
“I only started running in 2014 and worked my way up to my first half marathon in 2016. I sat watching the Mooloolaba Triathlon wishing I could do that but “knowing” I never could because I couldn’t ride a bike.
“The next year my thinking started to change. I never thought I could run a marathon, but here I was doing that after five months.
“On Sunday 2 October 2016, I got on a bike and learned to ride for the first time. Less than five years later, I finished my first full Ironman distance in a time that I felt proud of!”
To help Fiona reach her fundraising target, go to GoFundMe Sporting Dreams Charity Ocean Swim Fundraiser or sportingdreams.org.au.
