Libby Trickett on immersing herself in motherhood
LIBBY Trickett already knew how to dive in headfirst. What she needed to learn was that you don’t always have to sprint to the finish – sometimes it’s OK to just tread water.
Lifestyle
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SEEKING solace in her inflatable pool, Libby Trickett deserves a gold medal for being eight months pregnant in the midst of a relentless Queensland summer.
There’s still something about the Olympic hero in the way she submerges herself, the ghost of a Commonwealth Games champion bobbing in her happy place – the water.
Libby’s family moved house over the holidays and were welcomed by a broken airconditioner and a heatwave.
“My Christmas present to myself was a little baby pool to float around in,” Libby says.
“I said it was for Poppy but really it was for me.
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘Gee, I’m doing so well being pregnant over summer’ and then I got to 30 weeks and it hit me like a train.”
The Tricketts have long been the darlings of Australian swimming.
When 22-year-old Lisbeth Lenton of Townsville married her teenage sweetheart Luke Trickett, 24, in 2007 the media storm was so fierce a “walking tent” was procured to protect the young bride from the paparazzi as she made her way to the Sydney Harbour ceremony.
There were some troubled waters along the way, Libby’s initial retirement in 2009 and a second stab at swimming, which was brought to an end by a nasty wrist injury in 2013.
But team Trickett always seemed to break the surface.
So when little Poppy was born in 2015, why did Libby suddenly find herself gasping for air?
“I really struggled with Pops. She cried all the time and didn’t sleep and I blamed myself for it all,” Libby says.
“As hard as it was last time, I didn’t get help until nearly 10 months post partum. So this time I’m very conscious of not overloading myself and preparing better.
“Having had that experience I’m much less afraid of asking for help. I know it doesn’t mean I’m a crap mother or that I’m weak or doing anything wrong.”
Libby had an incredible 2017 hitting the airwaves in the lucrative drive slot from 3pm to 6pm on the Gold Coast’s GoldFM and Brisbane’s Triple M in The Luke Bradnam Show with Libby Trickett and Dobbo.
The show might not be hers in name but it’s clear Libby is both the brains, not to mention the heart, behind this operation.
Former athletes sometimes drown under the weight of their former reputations but not Libby.
This is a woman who was part of the golden age of Australian swimming, cruising along in the wake of the great Kieran Perkins and Susie O’Neill.
But when you’ve got an apparent ability to talk underwater and a bubbly personality to boot, audiences lap it up.
There’s something irresistible about a world champion’s tales of taking her little water babe to swimming lessons in between dousing her often outrageous co-hosts with cold water.
“Weirdly, even though I’m the youngest, I feel like I’m the mother of that group,” Libby says
“The things that come out of their mouths constantly shock me. I feel like I’m the voice of reason.
“But mostly we just talk about random stuff. Recently, I posted on social media about how my toenails fell off during my pregnancy.
“I wasn’t prepared for the reaction to that. Media from around the country were following the story and interviewing ‘experts’ to explain the condition.
“I just want everyone to know you don’t need all your toenails to live a fulfilling life.”
The trio resumed their show this week and Libby will remain with the team for about a month before going on maternity leave.
But despite having a radio show that’s holding its own in the ratings and a public that clearly still adores the ground her toenail-less feet walk on, Libby doesn’t know whether she’ll be back on air this year after her little bundle, due in early March, is delivered.
Then there’s the Commonwealth Games in April, an event where it would be only too natural to have our Libby help commentate on the swimming live from the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.
But after getting in over her head last time, the soon-to-be mother of two has learned that sometimes it’s all right to go where the tide will take you rather than fighting against the current that is the expectation to have it all.
“I will play it a little bit by ear. My manager at the station and our content director have been absolutely amazing and understanding about what a challenging time having a newborn can be,” Libby says.
“Originally, I was thinking I would take off four months but then I started to get a huge amount of anxiety over that.
“So they’ve said, ‘Take as long as you need’ and obviously I’m fortunate that in Australia we are allowed to have up to 12 months off.
“I was originally hoping to be involved with the Commonwealth Games, working especially on the swimming, but this is all part of not overloading myself. I had to say no a role because trying to establish breastfeeding with a potentially three week old and working really long hours was not going to work.”
The Tricketts know first hand that sometimes careers ebb and flow.
When Libby and Luke first met she was a wet behind the ears 17-year-old at the 2002 Oceania Swimming Championships.
“He was the swimmer of the meet and got Oceania records,” Libby says.
“Six months later I made the Australian team – and he didn’t. And 18 months later I had a world record and was an Olympic gold medallist. So I guess my trajectory was a bit more sharp whereas his petered out.
“This is something we have talked about really openly and there has to be some disappointment there. He never achieved the level of swimming he really wanted to. But he really understands now with the benefit of hindsight that he would not have changed anything.
“For the past 10 years he has had his own fund management business and I could rave to you all day about how successful and wonderful I think he is.
“There were a lot of lessons he learned from what happened with his swimming career that he was able to apply when working in a new industry.”
And so, for now, Libby is happy to watch from the edge of the pool, dipping her toes in again when the time is right.
“When I was swimming life was very black and white. I was always working towards major events and championships and everything was very planned,” Libby says.
“But everything I’ve been through has made me realise how much more fluid life is. So this year I don’t have any big resolutions and goals and by the end of it I can say, ‘Oh well I didn’t do that but I got all these other things done’ then I’ll be happy.
“This year I am not having such unrealistic expectations of myself. If literally all I do everyday is getting through the day with a newborn and toddler who are fed and relatively clean then I’ll consider that a success.”
LIBBY ON:
If you could have dinner with anyone who would it be and why?
Other than my husband and daughter probably Roger Federer. I’d really like to hang out with him – he’s really cool and humble.
Do you want to be famous?
That’s a hard one for me. I guess I’ve grown up being in the spotlight on some level and it’s brought me lots of wonderful things. But if I could have a preference, probably not. Can I sit on the fence on this one?
When was the last time you sang to someone?
This morning. My daughter makes me sing her Old Macdonald Had a Farm all the time.
What are three things you and your husband have in common?
A sense of humour, we are both pretty stubborn, definitely, and other than that we both have a real fierceness about us.
What are you most grateful for in life?
I know it’s really cliche and airy fairy but probably those little moments with family. It’s funny because I was able to live a very adrenaline filled life with swimming and so I got to have these big moments and achieve awesome things that is something I miss because it’s not my reality anymore. But I get to celebrate little things everyday with my daughter. I can go from being so incredibly frustrated with her and at the absolute end of my tether and then she will go, “Oh, I love you mummy” and I’m a mess on the floor going, “I can’t believe I’ve created you”.
MEDAL TALLY
2004 Athens Olympics: A gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay and a bronze in the 50m freestyle.
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games: 5 gold in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay, 2 silver for the 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle.
2008 Beijing Olympics: 2 gold in the 100m butterfly and 4x100m medley relay, a silver in the 100m freestyle and a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
2012 London Olympics: Libby helped the 4x100m freestyle team qualify in the heats and therefore received a gold medal despite not actually racing in the final.
Post-natal depression
PND affects one in seven Australian women.
Post pregnancy baby blues are normal but these feelings should soon pass.
If you experience feeling depressed for more than two weeks or it is having a detrimental impact on your life it is time to seek help.
Talking to your GP is a good starting point.
For more information visit beyondblue.org.au or call 1300 224 636.
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