Jake Whetton’s parents struggled being away from son during injury battles

QUESTION marks surrounded Jake Whetton’s Olympic dream but now the 25-year-old is on his way to living out his dream.

Tom and Kim Whetton will be cheering on their son Jake Whetton when he plays for the hockey for Australia at the Olympics. Picture: RENAE DROOP

QUESTION marks surrounded Jake Whetton’s Olympic dream for the past 18 months as the hockey star battled injury after injury.

The 25-year-old pondered whether he would be able to achieve something he has aimed for since starting the sport at Easts as a youngster, especially after missing out four years ago in London.

He missed several major tournaments through injury, including the Champions Trophy, where Australia claimed gold.

But Whetton was not the only one feeling the pressure as selection time for the Australian Kookaburras Olympic campaign approached with his family biting their nails more than 4300km away.

“That was the hardest thing for us, being so far away from him being based in Perth and us in Brisbane,” dad, Tom Whetton, said.

Kookaburra's versus Korea at the Hockey Centre in May. Australia's Jake Whetton celebrates scoring Australia's first goal of the match

“You never really know what’s going on with him because you’re not always there to help and even though we stay in contact with him all the time, it’s not the same.

“But he never really got emotional during the time when he was injured. He thought he had done enough to show selectors what he could do in the years before that.

“The one thing that did worry him, was that he got his spot in the team after someone got injured and he was worried the same could happen to him.”

But the Clairvaux MacKillop College graduate’s persistence and determination in his rehabilitation paid off when he was named in the Kookaburras team for Rio and his attitude inspired his younger sister along the way.

“For as long as I can remember Jake hasn’t wanted to do anything else with his life,” Rachelle Whetton said.

“Seeing him reach that dream is just mind-blowing.”

Jake Whetton of the Australian Men's Hockey team takes a photo of himself and team mates in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue on August 1, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)