Hendy’s Olympic dream now in reach after record-setting meet

A new holistic approach to swimming has given Jack Hendy the confidence to believe he can punch his ticket to the Tokyo Olympics.

A NEW holistic approach to swimming has given Jack Hendy the confidence to believe he can punch his ticket to the Tokyo Olympics.

The former Townsville swimmer moved to Cairns seven months ago to link with Stingrays Swimming Club’s Sander Ganzevles, who has changed the 20-year-old’s entire outlook on the sport.

Jack Hendy has qualified for the Olympic trials in June, for the chance to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Picture: Brendan Radke

Hendy first met Ganzevles in June last year when he was part of a one-off training camp at Woree, and quickly moved to FNQ and joined forces with the Stingrays’ coach. It was Ganzevles’ holistic approach that has been the biggest change adopted by Hendy in his time in Cairns.

It has also given him the belief that he can cut another second off his 100m freestyle and earn a place in Australia’s relay team – at the least.

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“It’s seeing the race from a higher level, visualising what you’re going to do,” Hendy said. “Swimming is more of a mental sport now.”

Hendy smashed 10 records at the FNQ Long Course Championships at Smithfield on the weekend, and in the process qualified for three events at the Olympic trials later this year.

Everything he has worked for this year led to that competition, and he blew them out of the water.

Hendy puts some of the success down to the immense team atmosphere at the pool, with the Stingrays’ faithful behind them every stroke of the way. But “everything clicked” in one of his strongest performances to date.

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But Hendy believes he can go even faster.

“The motivating part for me was I looked up at the timing board, saw the time, and felt I could do better,” he said.

“I’m confident that if I can take off another second, I’ll be in a position to earn a place in the Olympic team.

“It felt like everything clicked in the moment. We’ve been building up for this since January.

“There was some self-doubt heading into it. We missed a few training sessions because of the cyclone and a few other things, so I didn’t expect to do what I did.”

Hendy’s next major event is the nationals at the Gold Coast in April, when he and six other Stingrays take on the best from across Australia.

He then shifts gears to focus on the Olympic trials in June, when he hopes to stun the competition and earn a trip to Tokyo.

Originally published as Hendy’s Olympic dream now in reach after record-setting meet