Year 1 students at Stella Maris Catholic Primary School got into the Olympic spirit yesterday as former Illawarra sprinter, and former Stella Maris pupil, Kylie Hanigan visited to show off her Olympic torch.
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Ms Hanigan was a member of the Australian 4x100metres and 4x400metres women’s relay teams at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and carried the Olympic torch during the lead-up to the Sydney Games.
Ms Hanigan said she hoped to inspire children to achieve their goals but also wanted to give them some idea of what it took to be an Olympian.
‘‘In this day and age there is a lot of pressure on children to perform right from the start and, for me, I wanted to share [the reality] that my journey from a five-year-old to a 26-year-old at the Olympic Games was a long journey and a slow process,’’ she said.
‘‘It was about goal setting, setting yourself little targets and not necessarily being the best at the start.’’
She said the Stella Maris students were eager to know all about the workings of her Olympic torch and asked some tough questions about her career.
‘‘Talking to them brings back a lot of good memories and makes me remember how, when I was a five-year-old, I told my mum that one day I would run at the Olympics,’’ she said.
