These Kiwi medal hopefuls have triumphed over their illnesses
Sisters in sync
As kids, Kirstin and Caitlin Anderson used to have breath-holding competitions whenever they went for a swim.
The prize for the winner was a lollipop.
Now, however, the stakes are a lot higher, and it’s the nation’s turn to hold its breath. The talented sisters will take to the pool at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, this month, in the synchronised swimming pairs.
The girls, from Invercargill, says they’re glad they practiced staying underwater as children bettering their own times, because now, every second counts. “It’s really helped us with our sport,” says Kirstin (21).
But their life-long dream of competing at the games was nearly ruined when Kirstin contracted glandular fever in oay, just before their qualifying competitions .
Despite feeling very unwell, Kirstin was determined not to let her sister down, and soldiered on, going through the heats with all the other swimmers.
Not only that, but training and competing while ill has made it harder for Kirstin to get well again. “I didn’t have a choice really,” says the brave athlete of her decision to keep on swimming with her sister.
“I was monitored very closely. I haven’t fully recovered but I’m not as bad as I was. Every now and then my energy drops, but I keep going,” she says.
The sisters began synchronised swimming when they each turned 11 and it was only natural that they ended up combining their skills. Nowadays, Kirstin can hold her breath underwater for an amazing three minutes – one minute more than her sister Caitlin (17).
“We naturally compliment each other,” says Caitlin. “Even though we are so different in many ways, when we get together for swimming, we just gel.”
It had always been the sisters’ goal to make it to a big international event like the Commonwealth Games. And Kirstin will be competing twice, doing double duties and the individual synchronised swimming competition too.
The sisters hope to follow in the footsteps of Dunedin twins Nina and Lisa Daniels, who won a bronze medal at the last games in Melbourne. But Caitlin and Kirstin are aiming for gold.
“We’ve worked so hard. It would be a shame if we came so close and weren’t able to realise our dream,” says Kirsten.
Sticking it to ’em!
There was a time when Black Stick Anna Thorpe could eat an entire packet of chocolate biscuits in one sitting.
That was until a mystery illness struck, leaving the hockey player exhausted and often vomiting. Anna was to find out that the treat that almost forced her to throw in her hockey stick was just one of many things she was eating that was poisoning her.
Three years ago, Anna finally discovered the link between what she was eating and her illness when she was diagnosed with coeliac disease – a severe intolerance to gluten.
Although she was in peak physical condition, Anna’s body wasn’t able to cope with even a small amount of gluten, which is found in many foods.
With the diagnosis came a complete diet overhaul, which meant saying goodbye to many of her favourite foods, including those chocolate biscuits.
And it came just in time. Not long after changing her eating, Anna, who noticed an instant improvement in both her health and her game, was selected to trial for the New Zealand squad.
“I felt so much better after cutting out gluten and I could really see it on the hockey field. I could run again and I had heaps of energy,” explains Anna.
Anna, a kindergarten teacher from Whangarei, then made her debut for the New Zealand team in 2009 and is now heading off to Delhi to compete in the Commonwealth Games.
Although she’s really excited about the opportunity, she’s also feeling slightly apprehensive about meal times.
“I’m taking lots of food over – just in case,” she laughs. Going gluten-free had a downside for Anna, who has become an avid label-reader in the supermarket. “I found it really hard to get enough energy, so I was eating a lot of food,” she recalls.
But with the help of a nutritionist, vitamins and a great deal of organisation, Anna says she has got her diet, “almost down pat”.
“I was poisoning my body with food it just could not process,” she says. “I’m so pleased I made the change. I find it so easy now I’m not really affected by it any longer.”
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