{"id":7775,"date":"2019-10-29T05:25:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T21:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/sync-or-swim-an-unlikely-olympian-shares-her-success\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T11:37:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T03:37:13","slug":"sync-or-swim-an-unlikely-olympian-shares-her-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/sync-or-swim-an-unlikely-olympian-shares-her-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Sync or swim: an unlikely Olympian shares her success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine holding your breath and running for more than half a kilometre, and making it look effortless. If that seems daunting, it\u2019s the reality for some of Australia\u2019s toughest athletes \u2013 the fiercely fit synchronised swimming\u00a0squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn synchronised swimming[1]<\/a>, we perform moves that defy physics,\u201d says Curtin graduate and Olympic athlete, Danielle Kettlewell.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences can be fooled by our big, bright smiles that make it look easy, but that\u2019s part of the act,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe create human pyramids and throw each other metres into the air, all without touching the ground \u2013 and often without breathing.<\/p>\n

\u201cElite synchro demands performance at a level that very few understand and even fewer achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>Synchronized swimming is an aesthetic sport that weaves together the grace and beauty of dance and ballet, with the discipline and body-awareness of gymnastics, the teamwork components of rowing, the aerobic capacity of free-diving, the mental toughness of a fighter and the acrobatic capabilities of a diver \u2013 all wrapped up in a beautiful little bow with glitter, make-up, music, smiles and 50 per cent less oxygen than any other sport.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Unlikely Olympian \u2013 Danielle Kettlewell<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The road to Rio<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 2016, Canadian-born Kettlewell was blown away when she qualified for Australia\u2019s Olympic synchronised swimming squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started synchro in Canada when I was eight and loved it,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I was always the reserve on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt eighteen years old, I \u2018retired\u2019 because I knew there were two options: try out for the national team, which was never going to happen for me, or retire.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut a few years later, I was offered an incredible opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kettlewell had just celebrated her twenty-first birthday when she received the life-changing phone call.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe assistant national coach of the Australian synchro swimming team was searching for more people to join, in the hopes of qualifying for the Rio Olympics,\u201d she explains. \u201cMy parents are Aussie so I\u2019ve always held dual citizenship. When she asked me if I wanted to try out, I was amazed, but also overwhelmed with self-doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I knew that I would rather try and fail, instead of wondering \u2018what if\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young Canadian relocated to Western Australia in pursuit of her dream and took up a rigorous new training schedule. After months of hard work, she was one of just nine elite swimmers, including three others from Western Australia, to qualify for the Olympic squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went from being a spectator at the 2012 Olympics to participating in the competition just four years later!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the most surreal experience of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2016
Kettlewell (far left) with Olympic swimming squad. Credit: Artistic Swimming Australia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The unassuming athlete who had planned to retire just a few years prior, suddenly found herself catapulted onto the world stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing on from Rio, I competed at the world champs in Budapest in 2017,\u201d she smiles. \u201cAnd earlier this year, I competed in Australia\u2019s first mixed duet at the 2019 world champs in Gwangju.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were only the second Aussies in history to qualify for the synchronised swimming finals at a world championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Diving into study <\/strong><\/h3>\n

While world championship training kept Kettlewell extremely busy, she was also keen to complete her Curtin arts degree in internet communications.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost days I would wake up at 4:30am to get to the pool for training at 5:15,\u201d she says. \u201cThen I would have 1.5 to 2.5 hours of training in the morning, before I would hop out and head to Curtin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften in the evenings I would be coaching at the local synchronised swimming club or interning at Roy Hill Mine. They were long days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kettlewell studied between classes to ensure her evenings were free to work on side projects. In addition, she accessed study support through Curtin\u2019s Elite Athlete Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Elite Athlete Program was incredibly helpful,\u201d she says. \u201cIt offered me so much flexibility with my assignments and it was awesome to connect with students who competed at Rio too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Curtin<\/p>\n

Growing up in snowy Vancouver, Kettlewell says the Curtin Perth campus was an exciting novelty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved the campus and how it was all outdoors!\u201d she exclaims.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing from Canada, the idea of having a permanent outdoor hammock spot literally blew my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kettlewell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Internet Communications earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me eight years to finish my degree,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI studied at four universities in three different countries, with an Olympics in the middle!<\/p>\n

\u201cCurtin was my favourite. I felt the lecturers and tutors cared about individual student success and were always available to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Making a splash online<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kettlewell credits her Curtin degree with helping her to establish a new post-swimming career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI retired from swimming in July this year and am now working online to build up a new business as a life coach and motivational speaker,\u201d she reveals.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding a website and starting a blog were some of the first assignments I was given at uni \u2013 and I\u2019m using those same tools today.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternet communications are the future. Everything is going online and communication skills are essential. As an athlete in this age, I\u2019ve been fascinated by the importance of an online presence. It\u2019s no longer enough to be an Olympian, you have to work with \u2013 and navigate \u2013 the online world to promote your skills and create a career.\u201d<\/p>\n

The budding entrepreneur packed her bags earlier this month for Bali to launch her new business.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ultimate dream is to create a life where I can be location-free.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter living life with so much structure and discipline as an athlete, I needed a change of pace,\u201d she explains. \u201cI\u2019ve just launched my first ten-week program called Fearless Dreamers Activation<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FrontThe former athlete has also recently published a book<\/a> about her adventures, called The Unlikely Olympian: Step into Your Fears to Achieve Your Dreams. <\/em>She hopes her experiences will empower others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book was a real labour of love!\u201d she says. \u201cI tried to write it for about two-and-a-half years with no luck. I kept having writer\u2019s block. With lots of reflection I realised that came from the overall direction of the book. Intially I was writing it as an autobiography, but it didn\u2019t sit well with me. I had this deep desire to use my unusual journey to the [Olympic] Games as a tool to help others in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kettlewell says her website<\/a> is a great place to start for those wanting to learn more about her motivational work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a gold medalist or world record holder or household name in Australia,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I am someone who did something beyond what is possible for many with my level of confidence, lack of belief and skill.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd while I may no longer be making waves in the pool, I really hope my book, my story, my journey and my teaching will help others achieve their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Since 2017, \u2018synchronised swimming\u2019 has been referred to as \u2018artistic swimming\u2019 by international governing body FINA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine holding your breath and running for more than half a kilometre, and making it look effortless. If that seems daunting, it\u2019s the reality for Curtin grad and Olympic athlete Danielle Kettlewell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2670,"featured_media":7776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":1,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-7775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Graduate Snapshot","content":"

Name<\/strong>: Danielle Kettlewell<\/p>\n

Role<\/strong>: Life coach and motivational speaker \/ Former Olympian athlete<\/p>\n

Studied<\/strong>: Bachelor of Arts (Internet Communications)<\/p>\n

Graduated<\/strong>: 2019<\/p>\n","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"Digital and Social Media","qualification":"Bachelor of Arts","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/study\/offering\/course-ug-digital-and-social-media-major-ba--mjru-netcm\/","description":"","faculty":"Humanities"}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}},"post_components":false},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/supplied-by-danielle-1-edited.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Anne","last_name":"Griffin-Appadoo","display_name":"Anne Griffin-Appadoo"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 22:18:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2670"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7775"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=7775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}