Lumen Summer 2013 - Flipbook - Page 7
story by Ben Osborne
Magdalena’s
Olympic odyssey
Magdalena Moshi may swim out of the Olympics
spotlight but her achievements are no less remarkable.
T
he Health Sciences student is a
two-time Olympian and was the
first female Tanzanian swimmer to
represent her country in any international
competition.
At London, she competed in the 100m
freestyle and recorded an equal personal
best time – despite a major shoulder injury
suffered 10 days before competition.
“It was extremely disappointing to get
injured so close to the Games, but I was
proud that I still competed and swam an
equal PB,” she said.
Magdalena combined her swimming
and studies in a hectic schedule leading
up to London: days beginning at 4am, up
to eight swimming and four gym sessions
per week, plus her regular university
workload – and mainly done by catching
buses, as she has limited access to a car.
She said she was thankful for such
programs as the University’s Elite Athletes
Support and Information Service, which
aims to help student-athletes balance
their commitments.
“I love it here at Adelaide – the uni
is great and the lecturers have been
really flexible with my classes and my
swimming,” she said.
While her sporting focus is to
recover from her shoulder injury before
planning future goals such as the
2014 Commonwealth Games or 2016
Olympics, she is clear on her educational
and career goals.
“I’m hoping to use my degree to go
back to Tanzania and work in physiology
or public health. Diseases like malaria
are still a big problem there and what I
like about public health is that the work
you do can influence potentially millions
of lives.”
If you would like to find out more about
supporting an Elite Athlete, please
call +61 8 8313 5800.
Above: Magdalena
(centre) with her mother
and US tennis great
Venus Williams at the
London Olympic Village.
The University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 5
