West Australian swimmer Blair Evans recalls her rough road to Rio de Janeiro

WEST Australian swimmer Blair Evans is living proof of the saying “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”.

BLAIR Evans is living proof of the saying “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”.

The WA swimmer took “hit, after hit, after hit” – physically and mentally – for the best part of two years.

Her dream of becoming a dual Olympian at Rio de Janeiro was slipping away thanks to persistent shoulder and neck injuries.

“There was one time where I thought maybe I couldn’t keep going,” Evans told The Sunday Times.

“I didn’t have financial backing behind me, and that’s where (former Olympic swimmer) Deane Pieters came in and sat me down for a coffee.

“I basically said to him, ‘This is what I’ve been through’ and he already knew some of the story from keeping up with me. He sat me down and said, ‘Let’s see what I can do, I’ve got some friends that want to help out’.

“They got me some massive financial support and I have to thank them so much, because I wouldn’t have been standing behind the blocks at trials without them.”

The 25-year-old, one of three Olympics-bound WA swimmers alongside Brianna Throssell (200m butterfly) and Tamsin Cook (400m butterfly), had one word to describe her road to Rio qualification – “long”.

“There’s a lot of things in between then (London Olympics) and now that I’ve gone through that have grown me as a person and as an athlete, and I don’t think I’d be standing here without going through those things,” she said.

“I think I needed a lot of independence and growing up in between that, and I got that through getting injured.

“Obviously it’s not the perfect run in to any athlete’s story, but I ended up with a shoulder and neck injury that involved tendinitis bursitis and two bulging disks in my neck.

“I ended up needing surgery and a couple of cortisones into the nerve rootsleeve in my neck, so it took me a while to recover.

“I took a big hit mentally as well, but I was able to get through with the support of my family and my boyfriend (West Perth footballer Kody Manning), and I’m so grateful to have them around me.”

Another turning point for the London silver medallist was when she teamed up with West Australian Institute of Sport head coach Bud McAllister, who she described as “the perfect coach”, in late 2014.

“I was basically at an end point there, where it was either make or break,” she said.

“I told him I was basically ­broken – shoulder, hips, everything – and I don’t know what I can do.”

McAllister saw something in Evans based on her previous performances, and the pair jelled from there.

Needless to say, he was chuffed when his protege clocked a personal best time of 4:35.26 in Adelaide to book her ticket to Rio in the 400m individual medley, upsetting Keryn McMaster to claim the national title.

“He cried after my swim in the 400m IM, I’ve never made a coach cry so that was pretty special for me,” Evans recalled.

“There’s a lot of work still do to between now and Rio, but I believe he’s the right person to take me to the next level.”

Originally published as West Australian swimmer Blair Evans recalls her rough road to Rio de Janeiro