Newcastle surfer Ryan Callinan riding wave of emotion in bid to crack Tokyo Olympic team
It was a tragedy which could have broken him but instead Newcastle surfer Ryan Callinan is riding a wave of success ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
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Surfer Ryan Callinan has learned not to sweat the small stuff.
Not to worry if he’s beaten in a heat. Not to get riled at a rival. Not be phased at the position he finds himself in as a major contender for his sports first Olympic gold in Tokyo next year.
The Merewether goofy knows better than most life is too short.
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Too short for his dad Garry who died at 58 after a protracted battle with cancer in 2016.
Too short for his mum Janice who was fine one minute and dead of an aneurysm on Mother’s Day a year later.
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Too short to revisit the private hell of his life in the wake of the double tragedy.
Instead Callinan wants to look forward and smile. Celebrate the little things in life, be a great athlete but a better man.
I felt then like both deaths hit me like a train. There was no where to run or hide
“What happened with mum and dad changed me for sure,” Callinan says as he prepares for the Billabong Tahiti Pro expected to be activated at the infamous Teahupo’o reef break later this week.
“In 2017 I was back surfing after Dad died. I now realise I didn’t allow myself to grieve properly and in May, on Mother’s Day, my mum passed away.
“It was unexpected. It was really sudden. I had the worst of both ways, Dad was long and slow and I saw the whole process of hope, bad times, all of it.
“I saw mum in the morning and then she had an aneurysm and passed away at midday. She wasn’t sick or anything.
“I felt then like both deaths hit me like a train. There was no where to run or hide.
“The grieving process was painful but I had to face it full on. It helped in the long term. It was the complete opposite of how I dealt with my dad’s death.”
This time last year as he battled his way back onto the world surfing tour via a series of world qualifying tour events, Callinan only dared to dream of again making waves in the sport he loves.
Now he’s the top ranked Australian man and if he maintains his position among the world’s top 10, on track to surf at the Tokyo Olympics.
I’d love to win an Olympic medal of course, who wouldn’t. But what’s important is the way I get there
It’s been an extraordinary ride for a man buckled but unbroken by tragedy, who still things it’s “weird” his name and the Tokyo Olympics are mentioned in the same sentence.
“There’s still such a long way to go. It’s still so far away,” Callinan says.
The 27-year-old says his mission to find himself as a man and competitor in the wake of his parents death has made him stronger, more resilient and well versed in important life lessons
“I went inside and looked deep to see who I wanted to be as a person and as a competitor. I wanted to work out life in general and how I wanted to live it,” Callinan says.
“I figured out I needed to accept everything that happened. If you can’t change it, be OK with it, don’t try and control everything, be open to new things.
“I feel like I figured a lot out, how I wanted to go through life and the morals and standards I want to live by.
“To be comfortable in my skin and the person my parents and I wanted me to be.”
Callinan says while his parents deaths have shown “there are way more important things than winning”, he is still as competitive as ever.
“My competitiveness is there but I just prefer to focus on my performance more than the results,” he says.
“If I’m performing at the top then I’m going to be winning.
“And yeah, I’d love to win an Olympic medal of course, who wouldn’t. But what’s important is the way I get there.”
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