Tayla on her way to compete in a race.

by Lorna Gordon

At just 18 months old, Tayla Martin was already learning to swim, enjoying being in the water long before she could fully understand the impact swimming would have on her life. By the time she turned seven, Tayla had begun competing in small meets at the weekends, and as the years progressed, so did her dedication and skill.

Growing up with an older brother, Tayla developed a strong sense of competition early on. The typical sibling rivalry she had with him gave her motivation to always try and do better which pushed her forward in her swimming training.

Despite this, Tayal was a late bloomer in her chosen sport. Many of her peers were competing at state and national level when they were just teenagers dropping out as they got older. But Tayla stuck with it and at 26 she is reaping the rewards of her dedication.

At first, Tayla swam in pool competitions, training and competing in breast stroke. She didn’ t enjoy this stroke as much as freestyle and felt she wasn’ t progressing to where she wanted to be. Her coach

listened to her and suggesting trying open water swimming, which was freestyle, but when she gave it a go, there was a problem.

“ My coach said to try open water, and I hated it, I swore I would never do it again. But my coach sat me down and convinced me to try it again and I realised I got more out of it than pool swimming, so I decided to compete in this instead.”

At 16, she made it to the open-water state championships, and by 17, she reached the pool nationals. From there, her journey only continued to build momentum with her competing in her first international competition in Italy.

“ My first international swim was in Italy, and it was such an amazing experience for me to travel and compete. I had motion sickness in the water and wasn’ t sure I could do my race, but I stuck with it and trusted my training and the process, went into the race and was happy with the result.”

Since then, she has competed in Portugal, followed by events in Hong Kong and Germany. These experiences exposed her to top-tier international competition

many of whom she has made friends with and stays in touch with online and it has helped to strengthen her bond with fellow Australian athletes, many who train in different states. Recently Tayla placed third at the domestic trials in Busselton, Perth giving her a place in international trials, swimming in a 10K open water race in Egypt. She swam a fantastic race and qualified to go to the World Championships in Singapore in July. I asked her if the hot temperatures would add a level of difficulty to her swim there, but Tayla loves the heat.

“ I find it harder to swim in cold conditions, so the hotter the better for me. I enjoy being in warmer water, not everyone does so it’ s a strength I can play to.” Tayla explained.

At just 5’ 5 and 60kg, Tayla is one of the smaller swimmers on the team with many of the women that she races being taller, giving them an advantage, but Tayla doesn’ t let that get in her way, knowing she has her own advantages.

Being a full-time athlete means a rigorous training schedule. Tayla trains both mornings and afternoons both in the pool and with gym sessions. In between