Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Kayaker plucked from another sport joins new wave of Australian athletes eyeing Olympics
ABC NEWS (Australia)
Follow
1/1/2025
Just four years after hopping into a kayak, 19-year-old Sammy Lourey is a national champion and has her sights set on the Olympics. But her talent almost went undiscovered.
Category
📺
TV
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Sammie Lowry is doing a VO2 max test to examine how efficient she is at using oxygen.
00:12
She's a scholarship holder at the WA Institute of Sport as a kayaker, a sport she fell into
00:18
by accident.
00:19
Her coach at Trig Surf Club suggested she try out ways to improve her surf skiing.
00:25
I was kind of going to use the process as a way of improving technique mostly for surf
00:30
club which is I think how a lot of people start out but fell in love with the sport
00:35
and have just continued ever since.
00:38
After going through talent identification she was accepted and immediately showed promise.
00:43
She got picked up in their talent search program and within about nine months she was national
00:48
champion in the under 16 K1 nationals.
00:50
So a fairly steep rise and certainly fairly unusual to get to that level in such a short
00:58
space of time.
00:59
Lowry has her sights set on competing at the highest level.
01:02
It's just about enjoying it and reaching my full potential.
01:06
If that's the Olympic Games then that's great.
01:08
LA certainly, she's on a trajectory that could put her into that space.
01:13
We're a stretched target but it's not impossible.
01:19
Lowry is one of several scholarship athletes identified through talent days similar to
01:23
this one recently held at WACE.
01:26
Athletes aged 13 to 23 were invited to undergo testing to see if they have attributes suitable
01:31
for sports outside the mainstream.
01:36
So all this information and testing results gets provided to the WACE program coaches
01:40
here.
01:41
They've got years and years of experience of understanding what makes a good athlete
01:44
within their sport.
01:45
So they'll use their expertise and their experience to identify which athletes from
01:50
today they would like to invite to their programs.
01:53
With hopes of finding the next big thing in Australian sport.
Recommended
4:52
|
Up next
Team USA on Their Favorite Athletes Growing Up
SELF Magazine
8/1/2024
3:56
Paralympic Swimmer Jessica Long on Navigating Post-Competition Lows
SELF Magazine
7/16/2024
1:23
At Home with Olympic Gymnast Gabby Douglas
W Magazine
5/29/2021
1:28
Australia's winter athletes try Olympics on for size
Australian Community Media
5/1/2025
1:23
17yo sets her sights on 2032 Brisbane Olympics
ABC NEWS (Australia)
10/30/2023
3:51
Paralympic Sprinter Jaleen Roberts on Navigating Mental Health as an Elite Athlete
SELF Magazine
5/30/2024
2:35
Olympian Alexa Knierim Is Stronger Than Ever
SELF Magazine
1/23/2018
3:35
How Jordan Larson’s Break From Volleyball Prepared Her for the Olympics
SELF Magazine
6/4/2024
0:33
McKayla Maroney done with competitive gymnastics
usatodaysports
2/25/2016
1:24
Hottest Male Olympic Athletes To Watch
Glamour
8/5/2016
7:03
Team USA on When The Olympics & Paralympics Became Their Goals
SELF Magazine
6/27/2024
1:51
Teen climber Emily Scott sets sights on Olympics
ABC NEWS (Australia)
11/13/2023
4:14
Team USA on Representing Their Country at the Olympics & Paralympics
SELF Magazine
7/23/2024
0:40
Biles 'not so sure' on competing at Los Angeles Olympics
beIN SPORTS MENA
4/21/2025
0:51
A Look at Paris Olympics Wide Range of Aged Athletes
Buzz60
7/31/2024
1:33
Athlete to Watch - Katie Ledecky
Stadium Astro English
7/18/2024
1:54
Olympic Alpine Skier Laurenne Ross Loves Her Strong Figure
SELF Magazine
2/6/2018
2:58
Who are Team USA's Most Anticipated Competitors at the Olympics & Paralympics
SELF Magazine
7/9/2024
0:42
Olympians are winning houses, cows, and cars with their medals
Fortune
8/1/2024
2:34
Olympic weightlifters find love in the gym
usatodaysports
3/10/2016
7:13
How Team USA Finds Motivation to Train for the Olympics and Paralympics
SELF Magazine
6/6/2024
0:51
Lofty goal for Olympic gymnasts despite loss of star
Australian Community Media
6/19/2024
9:15
How Team USA Recovers After Competition at the Olympics and Paralympics
SELF Magazine
5/23/2024
0:38
Watch Olympian Lauren Boden make switch to bobsled
The Canberra Times
12/19/2023
4:26
What are Team USA's Travel Hacks for the Olympics and Paralympics
SELF Magazine
6/11/2024