Biography

«« Emma was born on the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia and has Dutch / Anglo-New Zealand parents. Because she was raised in a sub- tropical area with swimming pools, canals, rivers, & the ocean close by, she was taught water-wise safety habits as a baby. Her very first formal swim lessons started when she was only  18 months of age and she has been a water-baby ever since.

»» Childhood swim time fun in the home pool served to develop her water confidence and skills. Soon she was able to dog-paddle wearing arm floats up and down the pool length and quickly progressed to diving games and retrieving toys. Sun-tanned to a bronze colour, she often had marks around her eyes left by her goggle and what little hair she had was frequently bleached green by chlorine.

«« Emmas interest in swimming progressed to competition at school Swim Carnivals & she first experienced the awe of standing on the top step of the 'Winners Podium' at age 8. Year round, sometimes twice-daily swim training and stroke correction sessions under the watchful guidance of school coach Hugh Simpson, become a second nature habit for her & she thrived in this sporting environment.

»» Home pool races with neighbourhood friends became increasingly competitive and aside from being healthy fun, increased her fitness. As part of her junior school compulsory sport program Emma competed in her first cross-country running race around the boundary of the school yard at age 10. She quickly realised that being a swimmer gave her an aerobic endurance advantage when it came to in leading the run and she began to develop a distinct competitive streak.

«« Eventually she turned her attention to other sports and even when she rode her first two wheeler pink bike she just loved to race; even if only against her younger sister. She played junior basketball & again because of her fitness and determination excelled despite her height. Dabbling in ballet, gymnastics, football, tennis, skiing   and surfing she mostly favoured swimming because it seemed natural to her and appealed the most.     

»» Surf Lifesaving, a part of Australian water-wise culture, saw Emma achieve her proficiency levels, play beach games and learn surf watch duties in the local Surf Club ‘Little Nippers’ division. While her open water and surf swimming skills improved she preferred individualistic sport over group activities. Olympic swim / dive Coach Bill Richards took her under his wing saying “Emma always wants to train that little bit harder than the rest & listened with a focused intensity”.

«« She was chosen to represent her junior High School at more and more competitions and was soon travelling to inter-school events. Initially most competent in breast-stroke she became stronger in backstroke, free-style and butterfly and raced medley and relays. She became interested in the careers of her swimming star heroes and their achievements as her own collection of awards and ribbons mounted. 

»» At High School Emma took sports leadership roles and different sporting pursuits gained her attention. She tried rowing, touch rugby, snow and water skiing but swimming still remained her first choice. When scholastic focus was required, with acute acumen she easily conquered the "book-work things" but they just seemed to be an impediment to her doing sport. School Sports Captain duties & inter-school competitions occupied much of her time and the trophy box was always bulging with new trophies.

«« Athletes and Cross Country running were compulsory subjects on her High School curriculum so her running ability and racing knowledge began to improve plus became increasingly important for maintaining fitness. She started racing around the oval track at athletics meets which taught her tactics & savvy. In her spare time she became a qualified children’s Swim Instructor, partly to pass on her own early knowledge and partly to earn extra pocket money.

»» Emma had already travelled to Europe before being selected as the first girl to represent her school at an international swimming carnival in Hong Kong. Soon she was able to personally meet some of her sports idols, and sense the apparent lifestyle they enjoyed – and it appealed.  In an extra-ordinary case, she was even invited to hold a conversation with ‘Her Royal Highness Princess Anne’ at the pool deck when the royal entourage visited Emmas school.

«« At age 16 Emma entered a team triathlon at nearby Noosa, in the swim leg only and immediately became ‘hooked’ by the excitement of it all. She overtook many of the older swim competitors and just wanted to keep on racing. She decided there and then that ploughing up and down the swim pool lanes now seemed boring and this motivated her to concentrate on learning about the other necessary skills.

»» Shortly afterwards she entered another event, this time in both the swim & the run legs. The cheering from the spectators, the thrill of the chase, all compounded her enthusiasm for this new & fast growing sport and her focus became intense. Under the expert eye of Tri Coach Jenny Alcorn Emma took her first lessons riding on a race bike with cycle shoes when she did a slow motion sideways fall at a traffic light, both feet still firmly clipped to her pedals…

«« After graduating High School having already competed in a variety of small local events, she eventually progressing to her first Olympic distance Triathlon. She had enrolled in University and completed her first years study towards a Bachelor of Health Science when she won the National Triathlon Championship & received the female “Triathlete of the Year 2000 Award”, in the16 to 19 years age category. Shortly afterwards,  competing for Australia, she won her first WORLD CHAMPION title in her age group at Perth.

»» Following the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games a ‘Youth Olympic Festival' was held in the recently vacated facilities. It was an investment in the future potential of many Nations sporting juniors and designed to provide an insight of future Olympic competition. Emma again represented Australia and triumphed, taking the GOLD MEDAL under simulated Olympic rules, rings, and flags.

«« Gaining a Scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Emma benefited greatly from specialised education in the highest standards of fitness, health, race training, physiology, sports nutrition, sports psychology, injury management, bike mechanics and national team spirit.

»» As lover of dolphins, seals & the water Emma first dreamed of becoming a marine biologist, however had now become intrigued at the prospect of becoming a professional triathlete and making a livelihood out of her passion for Triathlon - the fastest growing and most recent addition to the Olympics.

They say a picture says a thousand words. If you browse the pages in this mostly pictorial website, you can follow her progress from here.