Former Olympian Erin Phillips: “Rio had implanted itself so far inside my psyche that it was something I thought about every day.”
Find out what held back Erin Phillips and fellow Olympian Lisa Smith from getting the most coveted tattoo for elite athletes – the Olympics rings.
SA News
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Two South Australian athletes – still haunted by their Olympic performances years ago -put their mental anguish to rest yesterday through some long overdue body art.
Dual Olympian, and AFLW star, Erin Phillips and Sydney Olympics clay shooter Lisa Smith, from North Haven, were both inked with tattoos to commemorate sporting moments that have haunted them for years.
It was the candid disclosure by Phillips, who co-hosts Mix 102.3’s breakfast show, of her Olympic sorrow on air recently that connected the two strangers.
“This tattoo is a full circle moment for me and is certainly good for my mental health,” said Ms Smith, 43.
The Australian clay shooter finished in 10th place at the 2000 Olympics with a score well below her personal best. She walked away from the sport for 15 years before returning to win a silver for Australia in the Oceania Games in 2019. “The pain and disappointment is still very real,” said Ms Smith
Ms Smith yesterday – the first days of Mental Health month – finally achieved her long held desire to ink the Olympic rings – the most coveted tattoo of elite athletes – on her forearm.
Phillips updated a tattoo of the Olympics rings, inked in 2008 after a Silver medal win at the Beijing games with the Australian women’s basketball team, the Opals.
She added the Roman numeral 31 (XXXI) – for the Rio Games in 2016, where the Opals placed fifth after a nailbiting two-point loss to Serbia. It was Phillips last game for Australia after winning.
“To go out; like that was devastating,” said Phillips.
Despite all the career successes, she said: “Rio had implanted itself so far inside my psyche that it was something I thought about every day.”
“I didn’t want to get Rio on my body because it was going to be something I would have in my face 24/7 but I’ve realised that it is something I do have to remember and be proud of even though the results didn’t go our way, we were still there, we still competed and we still made Australia proud.”
Phillips and her Mix 102.3 breakfast show co-host Mark Soderstrom are raising funds for the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation through a bike ride in Adelaide on October 24. To register visit www.bigbikerideforbreakthrough.org
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