Swimming: Seventh IOIG-Shrone Austin aims for Olympic qualification after IOIG gold medal feast |27 September 2007

In Madagascar last month, she set herself a target of 10 gold medals but she came up short by three. Winning seven gold medals in the newly built 50-metre six-lane pool in Antananarivo, Austin became the Seychellois athlete to win the most gold medals in anyone edition of the Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG).

Female swimmer Austin was no doubt Seychelles’ best individual performer with her seven gold medals won in the 800m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 200m breaststroke, 200m freestyle, 400m individual medley, 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley.

Accompanied by her coach Simon Gray, the 18-year-old, who also won a silver medal (100m breaststroke) and two bronze (100m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle relay), flew straight to South Africa after the Games before re-uniting with the rest of her family in Seychelles two weeks ago.

Asked by Sports Nation how she feels about achieving a new feat in her career, Austin replied:
“Even though I didn’t reach my target of 10 gold medals, I’m happy. I performed much better than in 2003 when I won four gold medals. And like in 2003 in Mauritius, I was the first Seychellois athlete to win a gold medal in Madagascar. It was good and I felt great. It was also nice to be on the podium alongside my sister (Shannon, who finished second in the 800m freestyle).”
As she heads to South Africa this coming Sunday to write her final A’Level exams starting in October, Austin has said that she will get back to serious training in mid-November with the aim of qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

It is worth noting that reigning African 1,500m freestyle queen Austin whose feat came in last year’s African Senior Swimming Championship in Dakar, Senegal, claimed a record 13 gold medals in the fourth edition of the Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Océan indien (CJSOI) swimming competition held here in December 2005.

With the next edition of CJSOI swimming competition scheduled for December in Mauritius, Shrone Austin will not be part of the team as she is over the age limit.

Maybe she will be a spectator and if she does travel to Mauritius she will be rooting for her sister – Shannon – in the pool.
 “It’s her turn to defend the Austin name, but I know it’s going be tough for her to win 13 gold medals like I did in 2005,” said Shrone Austin.