{"id":441219,"date":"2020-07-24T12:02:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T19:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=441219"},"modified":"2020-07-24T17:36:12","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T00:36:12","slug":"the-michelle-ford-story-part-one-the-phone-call-from-her-mum-that-changed-michelles-life-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-michelle-ford-story-part-one-the-phone-call-from-her-mum-that-changed-michelles-life-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"The Michelle Ford Story, Part One: The Phone Call From Her Mum That Changed Michelle&#8217;s Life Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Memories of Moscow 1980 &#8211; Today marks the 40th anniversary of the fifth day of racing in the pool at the <strong>1980 Olympic Games in Moscow<\/strong>, where <strong>Michelle Ford,<\/strong> of Australia, stopped the East German machine with victory over 800m freestyle. Here&#8217;s the first of a two-parter <\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\u00a0as <\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>Swimming World<\/em> continues its 40th anniversary coverage of the events of Moscow 1980 and their impact on those who missed out and what the Moscow Games meant for those who made it, even, in some cases, when their Governments did not endorse their participation but their nations did.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_440819\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"440819\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-40-years-to-the-day-since-vladimir-salnikov-cracked-15-minute-barrier-over-1500m-free\/moscow1980logo\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"320,284\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1595242790&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"moscow1980logo\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;moscow1980logo&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Moscow 1980 &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg\" class=\"wp-image-440819 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'segoe ui', verdana, helvetica; font-size: 16px; border: 0px none; vertical-align: top; max-width: 98.5%; height: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swimmingworld.azureedge.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?resize=204%2C181&amp;ssl=1\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?w=320&amp;ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?resize=225%2C200&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?resize=300%2C266&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?resize=150%2C133&amp;ssl=1 150w\" alt=\"moscow1980logo\" width=\"201\" height=\"178\" data-attachment-id=\"440819\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-40-years-to-the-day-since-vladimir-salnikov-cracked-15-minute-barrier-over-1500m-free\/moscow1980logo\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?fit=320%2C284&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"320,284\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1595242790&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"moscow1980logo\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;moscow1980logo&lt;\/p&gt; \" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?fit=320%2C284&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/moscow1980logo.jpeg?fit=320%2C284&amp;ssl=1\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-440819\" data-lazy-loaded=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-440819\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Moscow 1980<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em><strong>Our Moscow 1980 Olympics coverage so far<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-why-rica-reinisch-had-to-retire-at-15-after-3-olympic-golds-4-world-records\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories of Moscow 1980: Why Rica Reinisch Had To Retire At 15 After 3 Olympic Golds &amp; 4 World Records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-when-swedens-par-arvidsson-led-a-podium-of-historic-firsts-over-100m-butterfly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories of Moscow 1980: When Sweden\u2019s P\u00e4r Arvidsson Led A Podium Of Historic Firsts Over 100m Butterfly<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/40-years-on-mary-t-meagher-shares-memories-of-olympic-boycott\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories of Moscow 1980: 40 Years On, Mary T. Meagher Shares Memories of Olympic Boycott<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-40-years-to-the-day-since-vladimir-salnikov-cracked-15-minute-barrier-over-1500m-free\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories of Moscow 1980: 40 Years To The Day Since Vladimir Salnikov Cracked 15-minute Barrier Over 1500m Free<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-how-duncan-goodhew-converted-olympic-gold-to-victory-in-life\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories Of Moscow 1980: How Duncan Goodhew Converted Olympic Gold To Victory In Life<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-when-barbara-krause-took-100-free-below-55sec-20-years-before-her-day-in-court-with-kipke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories of Moscow 1980: When Barbara Krause Took 100 Free Below 55sec 20 Years Before Her Day In Court With Kipke<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-when-sergei-fesenko-became-the-first-soviet-swimmer-among-men-to-claim-olympic-gold\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories of Moscow 1980 \u2013 When Sergei Fesenko Became The First Soviet Swimmer Among Men To Claim Olympic Gold<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/memories-of-moscow-1980-40-years-since-boycott-buried-the-chances-of-cheryl-gibson-maple-mates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memories of Moscow 1980 \u2013 40 Years Since Boycott Buried The Chances Of Cheryl Gibson &amp; Maple Mates<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/moscow-olympic-flagbearers-max-metzker-and-denise-boyd-linked-forever-in-australias-proud-olympic-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moscow Olympic Flagbearers Max Metzker And Denise Boyd Linked Forever In Australia\u2019s Proud Olympic History\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/usopc-ceo-sarah-hirshland-to-1980-olympic-team-you-deserved-better\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland to 1980 Olympic Team: \u2018You Deserved Better\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-moscow-boycott-a-toxic-mix-of-sports-and-politics-proved-costly-for-hard-working-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Moscow Boycott: A Toxic Mix of Sports and Politics Proved Costly for Hard-Working Athletes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It was the phone call in the middle of the night that <strong>Michelle Ford<\/strong> had been waiting for. A phone call from her Mum that would change her life forever \u2013 a call that would stamp the then 17-year-old\u2019s Moscow Olympic passport in gold leaf.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy Mum rang me at 2am in the morning. I was in Nashville, Tennessee, where I was training under Don Talbot,\u201d recalled Michelle this week as she spoke of the trials and tribulations of the 1980 Moscow Olympics on the 40th Anniversary of the most controversial and tumultuous Games in Australia&#8217;s storied Olympic history.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_441238\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-441238\" data-attachment-id=\"441238\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-michelle-ford-story-part-one-the-phone-call-from-her-mum-that-changed-michelles-life-forever\/img_1133\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_1133.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1087,1356\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_1133\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;IMG_1133&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy:&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_1133-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_1133-821x1024.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-441238\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_1133-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_1133\" width=\"460\" height=\"328\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-441238\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PRIZED POSSESSIONS: Michelle Ford with her Olympic gold medal and pet koala. Photo Courtesy: AOF<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI ran to the phone in the dark in the house I was staying in with my American family and my Mum said: \u201cMichelle, you are going..you are off to Moscow and I said: \u201cWhat\u2026what\u2026are we going? Are we really going? \u201cWhat has happened..are we going\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It had followed four months of Federal Government demands on the Australian Olympic Federation for the Australian Team to boycott the Games in support of the USA&#8217;s stance against the Russian invasion \u00a0of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>The Australian Olympic Federation had met on April 19 and approved a team of 273 for the Moscow Games but Deputy Prime Minister, <strong>Doug Anthony<\/strong> had asked the AOF not to send a team to Moscow and to delay their decision until a meeting of the executive board on May 23, the day before acceptance of entries for the Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>The fractured 11-members of the AOC executive then met at the Sheraton Hotel in Melbourne on that day and voted 6-5 to go to Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>But Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser then approached the individual sports and insisted on one final session with the AOF executive on June 19 in a last ditch effort to get them to change their minds and some of them did.<\/p>\n<p>But the AOF executive re-affirmed its previous decision to take part in the Games but conceded that the team would march behind an Olympic flag, so the Australian flag would not be dipped in front of the Soviet leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Following individual athlete and sport withdrawals a final team of just 123 athletes, 27 of them women left for the Games with the swim team losing coach <strong>Forbes Carlile,<\/strong> team captain <strong>Mark Morgan,<\/strong> world record holder <strong>Tracey Wickham<\/strong> and <strong>Linda Hanel<\/strong> through illness.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_441235\" style=\"width: 499px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-441235\" data-attachment-id=\"441235\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-michelle-ford-story-part-one-the-phone-call-from-her-mum-that-changed-michelles-life-forever\/mos-michelle-ford-18th-birthday\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Michelle-Ford-18th-birthday-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,2028\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 8 Plus&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1594824249&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.99&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.2&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"MOS Michelle Ford 18th birthday\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;MOS Michelle Ford 18th birthday&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy:&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Michelle-Ford-18th-birthday-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Michelle-Ford-18th-birthday-1024x811.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-441235\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Michelle-Ford-18th-birthday-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"MOS Michelle Ford 18th birthday\" width=\"489\" height=\"349\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-441235\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">HAPPY 18TH: Michelle Ford gets the pick of the store on her 18th birthday in Moscow in 1980.Photo Courtesy: AOF.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ford was in good shape. Australian coach\u00a0<strong>Don Talbot<\/strong> was known as one of the hardest task masters in coaching and that was the reason she went to the US to train and to be ready for the Games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon was an Australian coach and I would be (over there) swimming and racing; we never had any competitions back then and I thought competition was what I needed; hence my decision to take up training in the US with the hype and the competition schedule they were running; in Australia, they had no more competition after the Trials,\u201d said Ford.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hit the Sydney training camp because it was really tough in the US to continue training. Even under Don and it was just tough and the Americans were amazing after their Government convinced them to \u00a0 boycott.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_441227\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-441227\" data-attachment-id=\"441227\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-michelle-ford-story-part-one-the-phone-call-from-her-mum-that-changed-michelles-life-forever\/mos-isa-wye-karen-van-der-graaf-michelle-ford-joe-king-lisa-curry-2-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Isa-Wye-Karen-Van-Der-Graaf-Michelle-Ford-Joe-King-Lisa-Curry-2-1-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 8 Plus&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1594824083&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.99&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.25&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"MOS Isa Wye Karen Van Der Graaf Michelle Ford Joe King Lisa Curry 2\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;MOS Isa Wye Karen Van Der Graaf Michelle Ford Joe King Lisa Curry 2&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy:&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Isa-Wye-Karen-Van-Der-Graaf-Michelle-Ford-Joe-King-Lisa-Curry-2-1-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Isa-Wye-Karen-Van-Der-Graaf-Michelle-Ford-Joe-King-Lisa-Curry-2-1-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-441227\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Isa-Wye-Karen-Van-Der-Graaf-Michelle-Ford-Joe-King-Lisa-Curry-2-1-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"MOS Isa Wye Karen Van Der Graaf Michelle Ford Joe King Lisa Curry 2\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-441227\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IN THE SWING OF THINGS: Australian team members Isa Wye (manager), Karen Van Der Graaf, Michelle Ford, Joe King (coach) and Lisa Curry in Moscow. Photo Courtesy: Hanson Media Collection (Russ McPhedran).<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201c<strong>Tracey Caulkins<\/strong> (the US superstar) and my training partner said to me look Michelle you\u2019re going to represent us as well; it was this moment of solidarity of athletes; it\u2019s amazing the courage of the Americans; I felt so bad that I was allowed to go and they weren\u2019t. That\u2019s how it (went) down\u2026.our squad was made up of swimmers from all over the world, it was really a united nations group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to remember we were 17 and 18 year olds and some of us we didn\u2019t even have the right to vote yet and we were being treated as absolute traitors to our country; to overcome that and to continue, you needed the force from those people around you.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m always so thankful for those Olympic officials who voted for us to go and gave us the opportunity to go and really fought as they were also under enormous pressure as was Channel 7 and anyone who had anything to do with the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a really tough moment in sport and it showed the Government was dangling the strings of finances over it to pull people left and right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAthletes were offered $6000 at the time not to go which was a lot of money because we didn\u2019t actually receive a cent in those days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were saying \u201c pull off the team\u2026we\u2019ll look after you..we\u2019ll do this that\u201d and it\u2019s amazing they could pull against the athletes in such an horrific and horrible way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo make it so difficult for any athlete to get on that plane to go and that\u2019s why we ended up sneaking out of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll we wanted to do was swim and they (the Government) were still trading wheat with Russia,\u201d said Ford.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lead up to the Games was just excruciating for the athletes mental power; you need to continue and we had to make the decisions; asking do you keep going? Is the Olympics going to happen..is it not\u2026?\u201d said Ford.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_441237\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-441237\" data-attachment-id=\"441237\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-michelle-ford-story-part-one-the-phone-call-from-her-mum-that-changed-michelles-life-forever\/mos-swim-and-dive-team\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Swim-and-Dive-Team--scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 8 Plus&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1594823336&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.99&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"MOS Swim and Dive Team\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;MOS Swim and Dive Team&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy:&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Swim-and-Dive-Team--700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Swim-and-Dive-Team--1024x1024.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-441237\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MOS-Swim-and-Dive-Team--700x500.jpg\" alt=\"MOS Swim and Dive Team\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-441237\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">BLAZER BRIGADE: Australia&#8217;s 1980 Moscow Olympic Swimming and Diving Team Photo Courtesy: AOF<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cYour training routines were determined by the question marks (hanging) over your head..?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that was really tough\u2026for all the athletes living in Australia \u2026and each time we got an inkling we might go to the Games the Government came back and that\u2019s when the death threats started happening and the aggression (against us).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was so un-Australian really\u2026but it was forced upon us by some notion and it was very hard for me as an athlete to understand what that notion was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy were we asked to drop our whole lives..all the effort that we trained for\u2026. all those years just in one day\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could not understand why I couldn\u2019t just get on that plane and go, there were death threats against me through my parents \u2013 but they didn\u2019t tell me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I needed to keep training until Australia finally decided whether we were going or not\u2026.Don was telling me to stay\u2026I\u2019m thinking go\u2026.and I asked him what\u2019s the use in staying? It was horrible\u2026really bad\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy parents kept telling me \u201cstay away Michelle don\u2019t come back\u201d it\u2019s terrible here\u2026.I was trying to hold my own in the US which was terrible over there because it had absolutely knocked each and every athlete on the head\u2026that they were not going to the Olympic Games\u2026and we still had hope\u2026and to swim next to somebody who lost their hope is really tough.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Michelle Ford is in the closing chapters of writing a tell all book on her Olympic life.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Memories of Moscow 1980 &#8211; Today marks the 40th anniversary of the fifth day of racing in the pool at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, where Michelle Ford, of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7938,"featured_media":441225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122100,122075,10],"tags":[121700,1227,5396,18222],"class_list":["post-441219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-features","category-oceania","category-world","tag-dick-caine","tag-don-talbot","tag-michelle-ford","tag-tracey-caulkins"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - 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