The courage of Jarrod Poort was on clear display at the Olympic Games in Brazil last year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The world of ocean swimming was turned on its head when, rather than swim with the pack, Poort broke away by himself in an attempt to win the gold medal completely on his own.
The swimming world was stunned.
Normally an event unlikely to attract a great deal of attention, the Olympic open water swim was thrown into the spotlight as the world watched on to see whether Jarrod could do the unthinkable.
Unfortunately he fell short as the pack finally gathered him in over the closing stages of the race, but the courage and effort it took gave the Illawarra swimmer an almost cult-like status.
Now Jarrod Poort faces a new challenge.
Swimming Australia announced on Thursday he had been handed a 12 month ban for failing to satisfy drug testers on his whereabouts on three separate occasions.
Poort knows it is not a good look, as does Swimming Australia.
“Jarrod has taken responsibility for his filing errors and we continue to work with and support Jarrod as best we can to support him through this process. Jarrod has accepted responsibility and understands the impacts of his actions,” the statement by Swimming Australia said.
“Whilst clearly this is a very disappointing situation for Jarrod and swimming, we need to reiterate that this is not a positive result and his ownership and acceptance of the situation is admirable.”
Resilience has been a trait of Jarrod’s his whole career and indeed is integral in his chosen sport. He needs that trademark now more than ever.
GONG TO GO NITRO
The Illawarra Mercury is delighted to be able to announce Nitro Circus is coming back to town.
Not only that but show leader and superstar Travis Pastrana will be coming with it.
The hugely popular show will undoubtedly be a sell out and keep watching the Illawarra Mercury to find out how you can get your hands on the first tickets in town.
Nitro Circus and the FMX Big Air Ramp will be throwing riders on all sorts of vehicles 60 feet into the air on March 24, 2018, and like everyone else we can’t wait to “go Nitro”.
Ticket giveaway details will be revealed at illawarramercury.com.au soon.
