Olympic dream for young paddler

Talisha Buttsworth.

Derrick Den Hollander

AT only 11 years of age Talisha Buttsworth had already represented her country.

She is now 13 and continuing to take her sport of outrigging to the world stage.

The Tannum Sands local got into the sport at age 10 after a friend invited her to try it out.

“I went to a couple of competitions and started doing really well,” Buttsworth said.

In 2008, approximately a year after beginning, the talented Buttsworth became the youngest member of the national outrigging team.

Selected in the Under 14 OC6 category she, along with five other Australian girls, made it to the finals of the New Zealand National Sprints.

In the same year Buttsworth became the Under 12 OC1 National 250m Sprint Champion and consistently earned podium placings in OC1 and OC6 events all over the state.

Competing against women a year older, she contested and won the Under 14 OC1 two-kilometre rudderless marathon and received a bronze for the four-kilometre OC1 marathon during the local regatta in July.

Buttsworth is now training hard for the Vaka Eiva regatta in the Cook Islands in November this year.

Managing to squeeze in school and a social life, Buttsworth trains on the water three times a week as well as once with a personal trainer.

According to Buttsworth it can be quite the juggle.

“When it comes to homework I'm kind of like 'oh no I've got outrigging this afternoon' and I get a little bit stressed out. But I get it done.”

The Channel College student recommends outrigging to anyone who might be contemplating trying it out.

“You get to meet new people and make lots of friends from all over the world,” she said.

“And you get to travel all over Australia and see new things, you're not just in the one place.”

On top of her success, Buttsworth is still looking to expand and promote the sport on an international level as she attempts to get outrigging accepted into the 2020 Olympics.

“They are thinking about knocking out one of the water sports (in the Olympics),” she said.

“I want to write to the Australian Institute of Sport and see if they can make outrigging (one of their sports) and maybe the Olympics will recognise outrigging and hopefully make it an Olympic sport in 2020.”