{"id":578574,"date":"2024-02-19T16:21:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T23:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=578574"},"modified":"2024-02-19T16:21:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T23:21:02","slug":"mollie-ocallaghan-eager-to-lead-australian-assault-on-olympic-games-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/mollie-ocallaghan-eager-to-lead-australian-assault-on-olympic-games-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Mollie O’Callaghan Eager to Lead Australian Assault on Olympic Games in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mollie O’Callaghan Eager to Lead Australian Assault on Olympic Games in Paris<\/strong><\/p>\n

At just 19, Mollie O\u2019Callaghan<\/strong>\u2014affectionately known as Mollie O\u2014is a name Australia is quickly recognizing\u00a0as a member of the country\u2019s latest group of swimming golden girls of the pool.<\/em><\/p>\n

Olympic champions Emma McKeon<\/strong>, Ariarne Titmus<\/strong>, Kaylee McKeown<\/strong>, the Campbell sisters<\/strong>, Cate and Bronte<\/strong>\u2014and Mollie O\u2019Callaghan<\/strong>, along with Shayna Jack<\/strong>\u2014have catapulted Australia\u2019s women to the top of the world.<\/p>\n

Mollie O<\/strong>, as O\u2019Callaghan is affectionately known, is the baby of the group who has been on a trajectory toward swimming greatness since her mum, Toni<\/strong>, launched a fund-raising appeal to send her daughter to Melbourne for the Australian Schools Championships in 2014.<\/p>\n

Mollie was just 10 years old and attending Greenbank State School, located in a small working class rural residential suburb in the City of Logan, 40 kilometers (a little less than 25 miles) southwest of Brisbane.<\/p>\n

The O\u2019Callaghan family had to raise $5,000 to get their budding young Mollie to nationals after being selected on the Queensland team\u2014a lot of money for any family.<\/p>\n

But the community dug deep and got young Mollie her first Queensland tracksuit and her first proper racing suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cA proper racing swimming suit can be more than $300,\u201d Mollie\u2019s mum said at the time…and then there\u2019s return airfares and uniforms.<\/p>\n

Collection boxes were placed at The Coffee Club stores at nearby suburbs in Jimboomba and Browns Plains, kickstarting the appeal with the family overwhelmed with people\u2019s generosity.<\/p>\n

And Mollie\u2019s take on her first trip away?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a bit nervous, but looking forward to it\u2014it\u2019ll be a good experience. The challenge will be racing faster swimmers because I like to push myself to be the fastest,\u201d said Mollie back on the eve of those championships in 2014.<\/p>\n

It was the start of a career that has seen Mollie O reach swimming\u2019s greatest of heights as she now prepares for her second Olympics in Paris later this year and a career where she has swum her way into the hearts of so many everyday Australians.<\/p>\n

AN INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Mollie, who will turn 20 in April, it\u2019s been nearly a 10-year journey with this determined little redhead who remains the same coy kid…who still gets nervous before she races…and who has certainly lived up to her own words as a 10-year-old, pushing herself to be the fastest.<\/p>\n

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BACK ON DECK: Mollie O’Callaghan happy to be back racing.Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

Mollie O is now…<\/p>\n