Winning Olympic gold would be nothing compared to beating cancer for Aussie water polo star Lachlan Hollis
If it wasn’t for water polo, Lachlan Hollis says he would never have been diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer. Now he’s pushing for a spot on the plane to Tokyo.
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Elite athletes often profess that they owe their life to sport but in the case of Australian Tokyo Olympic hopeful Lachlan Hollis, nothing could be closer to the truth.
If it wasn’t for water polo, Hollis says he would never have been diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer that may have cost him his chance to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics but gave him so much more in return.
“There’s no doubt water polo saved my life because it brought the symptoms on and helped me recognise something was wrong,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“If I hadn’t been playing water polo at a high level, the symptoms would have gone unnoticed and I may never have been diagnosed.”
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It was five years ago, when Hollis was playing professionally in Italy, that the problem surfaced without warning.
Just 25 at the time and super fit, he began to experience chronic lower back pain after matches so was ordered to undergo extensive tests.
The doctors were initially baffled and it took six months before scans revealed he had a tumour.
“I wasn’t expecting that because I was so fit and healthy and playing a lot of water polo but it’s just a very clear message that cancer doesn’t discriminate,” Hollis said.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, how much you make, where you're from, it could just be your unlucky day.”
Hollis had already missed the 2012 London Olympics after breaking his foot and Rio was out of the question because he needed urgent treatment, including extensive chemotherapy and two operations, each lasting 12 hours, to remove the tumour.
He was out of action for more than two-and-a-half years before deciding to make a return to water polo with the long-term goal of getting to Japan for the Olympics.
Australia have already qualified in both the men’s and women’s competitions and are looming as genuine medal contenders in both events but competition to make the team is intense.
The sharp shooter was recalled to the national side for the 2017 World Championships in Budapest and although he missed selection for this year’s world titles in South Korea, he was picked for the recent Tests against Croatia in Sydney and is in the squad for next month’s series against the United States in Brisbane.
“Making the Olympics wasn’t ever an instant goal for me because just getting cancer free was the short term goal,” he said.
“Getting back in the pool was more of a long-term goal. I’ve done a lot of training and rehab just to get back to where I am today so it’s a nice feeling to be back playing for the Australian Sharks.
“It’s still a strong focus but I just got the five-year all-clear last month so while it’s a good feeling, in my opinion, I've already won my Olympic gold medal by beating cancer so anything beyond this is pretty special.”
Originally published as Winning Olympic gold would be nothing compared to beating cancer for Aussie water polo star Lachlan Hollis