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Olympic Games 2020: WA waterpolo star Zoe Arancini reveals mental torture of competing

Headshot of Steve Butler
Steve ButlerThe West Australian
Zoe Arancini with George and Andrew Ford.
Camera IconZoe Arancini with George and Andrew Ford. Credit: Simon Santi

The mental torture of the four-year Olympic cycle can break an elite athlete as deeply as it can give life-long memories.

WA waterpolo star Zoe Arancini, who made her Olympic debut at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and is on target to compete at next year’s Tokyo Games, has given a sobering insight into the stress that comes with wanting to be a part of the greatest sporting show on earth.

The eight-year span that covers two Games often means an elite athlete gets just one shot at the pinnacle event of their lives.

“It’s a very hard thing to explain,” Arancini, who was this week named the most valuable player in this year’s Australian Water Polo League season, said.

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“People in WA love their football and you have a premiership every year and then there’s always next year.

The Game AFL 2024

“But this is four years and if you don’t get it done, you have to wait another four years.

“You’re going to and from 5am starts and because we’re only an amateur sport, we also have to still get jobs or go to university outside of the pool. So it is a gruelling four years, but it’s also so worth it when you make it.

“This is my third cycle — I missed out on London, then went to Rio and people are already asking me about Paris (in 2024).

“I’m like, ‘Whoa, that’s five years away. Let’s just make this one’.” Arancini has been given a good mental grounding about the demands of her sport from parents Peter and Wendy, who were also Australian water polo players.

She said the Rio Games were an event to remember — in and out of the pool.

“Because it was my first one, I absolutely loved the experience,” Arancini said.

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