Watching the Olympics has increased the excitement for Newtown resident Katrina Porter ahead of her third Paralympics, despite her coach banning her from getting up for the swimming finals.
Porter, 23, moved to Newtown from Perth last November to complete her commerce degree at Sydney University and prepare for the London Games.
After winning the 100m backstroke with a then world record time in Beijing, Porter will be aiming for back-to-back gold next month.
Despite London being her third games after making her debut as a 15-year-old in Athens in 2004, Porter admitted to be more nervous this time.
“The older you get the more you think about all the hard work you’ve put in. When you’re young you also don’t think about all the effort your coach has put in and the sacrifices your family has made,” she said.
Porter said watching the swimming events at the Olympics had made her more excited ahead of the Paralympics, but was banned from watching the finals live.
“I look at the (aquatic centre) and think ‘far out, in a month I’m going to swimming there’.
“(But) I only had five hours sleep one night and my coach wanted to know why I was struggling at training the next day.”
Porter said moving to Sydney had been the “best decision” she had made, but will be returning to Perth next year when her degree is completed.
She will also compete in the 400m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m individual medley in London.
This article was written by Phil Blatch from the Inner West Courier: http://inner-west-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/excitement-kicking-in-for-paralympic-champion
Porter is a Sydney University commerce student and an SUSF Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarship holder.
