Michelle Ford – Turning The Tide, PART 2: Voices Told Her On Final Lap In Moscow: “Let’s Do This, Michelle.”

Michelle Ford, Olympic Champion – Turning The Tide, PART 2: The Voices Kept Telling Herb On The Final Lap In Moscow: “Let’s do this, Michelle.”

A devoted family and her coaches supported Michelle Ford’s dreams and desires to become an Olympic champion as she juggled the rigorous daily training routines, so much time away from school and home.

All the time encouraged by the wise words of wisdom and support of her family and in particular her grandfather, Ollie Alldis.

There are so many issues and extraordinary exposes, from a time when teenage athletes were sent on adventures away from home that none of us could possibly imagine or believe if they were not documented in the pages of Michelle Ford, Olympic Champion –Turning The Tide.

An Olympic gold medallist whose father and grandfather told a 10-year-old Michelle as they watched Shane Gould swim her way to Olympic stardom in Munich in 1972: “That could be you one day!”

BRAVE NEW WAVE: Michelle Ford celebrates Moscow gold. Photo Russ McPhedran (Hanson Media Collection)

It’s also just as much a story about her grandfather who stood by his grand-daughter through thick and thin – and who encouraged her to follow her dreams and to follow her heart, to believe that anything is possible.

Moscow is where Michelle Ford would finally have her day in the sun and become the Olympic champion, carrying the memory of her grandfather Ollie Alldis, through every stroke of every one of the 16 laps in the race of her life.

Ollie was a World War II veteran, who fought for Australia in the Middle East for three years and returned home to have a profound influence on his family and a granddaughter who would remember his every word of advice and every word of encouragement.

Michelle writing:” I kept returning to my grandfather’s words, the quest he’d set me and the confidence he’d given me….”

Voices in her head as she embarked on the last lap in her Olympic 800m gold medal final, with three swimmers in blue swimsuits snapping at her heels in the Olimpiysky Sports Complex.

“Let’s do this, Michelle,” said those voices.

“My voice, my coach’s voice, the American voices of US legend Tracy Caulkins and her Nashville team in the US (where she prepared for the Games under Aussie coach Don Talbot) but who had their own dreams crushed by the US led boycott; the voices of my parents, and my grandfather and all those who’d supported me through thick and thin.”

A grandfather who kept a diary of all her times, suggesting at the age of 10 she might bring home a gold herself one day.

“I laughed but he looked me straight in the eye and said, “Michelle, here is what I will do. If you break a senior NSW State record, I will give you $10; a National record, $15’

“Interesting (thought Michelle) But it would be a long time, if ever, before he would have to pay I suggested.

“He ignored me and got back to his quest: “If you win the Australian titles, another $30, then a world record $100.’

“I didn’t know the value of money, but I sensed that it was a ludicrous amount. But the challenge of the ‘game’ intrigued me!

“I now thought he was joking but the spark caught hold. What if?

“He went on— ‘Commonwealth record, Commonwealth medal, Olympic medal and then, out it came: Olympic gold gets $500. It seemed so far out of reach (at the time) that it was insane, a fantasy of his aspiration for me.”

But a man who kept the dream alive…

“I had achieved the impossible, the unthinkable, the quest my grandfather had challenged me to take on….I proved to myself that I was capable of anything. I was no longer that

TIME TO CELEBRATE: Michelle Ford (centre) with from left, Isa Wye (Team manager), Karen Van Der Graaf, team coach Joe King and Lisa Curry. Photo Courtesy Russ McPhedran (Hanson Media Collection).

little girl on the sofa nodding to “That could be you one day” but not truly believing….

A man who had made it all the way to Montreal in 1976 to cheer her on at her first Olympics, tragically passing away the same year, four years prior to Michelle’s Moscow triumphs.

“By the time we arrived in Montreal, I hadn’t seen my parents in months. I was delighted when they finally got tickets. They rented a little terraced house not far from The Village. My grandfather, my biggest supporter, travelled with them. He was devoted to my career.I cherished the time with my parents and grandfather. It made me feel supported again, and able to rebuild and get my head in the right place for the job ahead.

“I would never forget the door my grandfather had opened in my heart and mind. He was the one who told me I could be right up there with the best. I carried his belief, strength, and spirit with me into the next chapters of my swimming story.”

A proud grandfather and an Aussie schoolgirl both believing that dreams can come true….and against any odds….

Michelle Ford, Olympic Champion – Turning The Tide (With Craig Lord) Fair Play Publishing.

US Swimming legend and three-time Olympic gold medallist and her 1980 training partner Tracy Caulkins will launch Michelle Ford, Olympic Champion – Turning The Tide in Sydney today, March 11.

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