Blair Evans, winner of the 200m free at the Aussie nationals this week, today tells Tom Wald at AAP that as a 12-year-old she was on the verge of starting chemotherapy for bone cancer when better news arrived.
"It's a long story...," Blair tells Wald. "I had a condition when I was back in year six I had to undergo a few operations and am back on the mend and managing it really well." She was told she had bone cancer but at the 11th hour before treatment, the condition turned out not to be cancer after all.
[Swimming Australia - you need to change that line in her biog... Notorious things biogs. I recall reading that Anthony Nesty "learned to swim by stroking away from crocodiles in the swamps of Surinam"... the ambassador of said country subsequently delivered a lesson in the flora and fauna of his country ... and then there was the Russian tennis player who "learned to play by hitting his balls up against the Kremlin wall... that made it into thousands cuttings and more ... totally untrue, of course].
Blair had a massive infection on her hip joint. She would never be a runner, but in water .... Now 18, Blair is handling a degenerative hip condition well and has regular massage and blood tests to keep the potential problem in check.
"It was a very challenging situation when I was in year six because from then on I was not able to run, so I was not able to do athletics carnivals or anything like that," she told Wald. "From there I really got stuck into my swimming which the doctors said I could do and it has paid off immensely for me."
Beyond the hip, coach Matt Magee notes that Evans has overcome something else to get to where she has this week: a sharp attitude. "She was challenging ... like any precocious teenager," he told Wald (with a smile). "She provided challenges for me as a coach and I provided challenges for her as an athlete."
Evans notes: "I had an attitude change and I was able to go along with some of the Australian swimmers and go along with them to camps and so I got to see what they do in and out of the pool." An 18th place over 800m free in Rome last year jolted Evans.
"I don't think she went there and failed in any way, I think she went there and grew," said Magee. "She came back with her eyes open and said 'Wow, it's interesting out there and these girls are professional and they are the world's best for a reason and I want to be like that'.
Next stop for Evans: 800m free final today.
