Two of our highest-profile Olympians have shone a light on why the absence of Liz Cambage and other Aussie stars is sadder than we realised.
. She said having “no friends” around, coupled with rising levels of anxiety, left her with no option but to say goodbye to her Opals teammates.
Both are now four-time Olympians but even in the early days of this year’s Games, they’ve sensed something special about Tokyo that has arisen from circumstance – with athletes’ movements limited because of the coronavirus – and a heightened sense of togetherness among the residents at Australian headquarters.
“It was good to sit last night amongst the greater Australian team and other sports, watching the Matildas come up with a good win. It’s what it’s all about, soaking it in, finding that time to appreciate where we are without losing the mindset of the reason of why we’re here and that’s to achieve a gold medal.
“Part of our value set is we value people first and performance second, and giving people the freedom to be themselves, to go out there and do their absolute best without judgment from the team, knowing they have a safe space to come back to, has really allowed people to flourish and perform at their best.”
That part of Cambage’s reasoning for withdrawing was a lack of support from friends seems even sadder in the wake of Mills’ and Campbell’s comments. The way they described it, the Aussie team was more family than friends. If you can’t find support in that environment, where can you?
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