Former Cooktown swimmer Shaelanee Hegamaea will dive into the Starlight Super Swim challenge this month to fundraise for sick children. Photo: Supplied.
A well-known former Cooktown swimmer is using her talent in the pool to raise money for sick children, but she needs the help of the Cape York community to achieve her altruistic ambition.
Shaelanee Hegamaea will be diving into the Starlight Children’s Foundation Super Swim challenge this month, pledging to chase the white line for 32 chlorine-fuelled kilometres to bring a splash of happiness to children in hospital.
The 21-year-old, who comes from Cooktown swimming royalty and is currently based in New South Wales with the Royal Australian Air Force, will be undertaking the challenge with her military brethren.
“Our whole unit is raising money for these kids,” she told Cape York Weekly as she prepared to hit the pool.
“We’re young and healthy, and it’s a good opportunity to show that even though we have busy lives, you can still push yourself and strive towards goals.
“I haven’t been swimming competitively in like six or seven years, so getting back into the routine is pretty hard, but it’s worth the challenge, especially for such a good cause.”
The Starlight Super Swim will run until 28 February, and features three levels: social, which is 2km, hero, requiring a 14km effort, and the pro class Ms Hegamaea is chasing, which requires fundraisers to chalk up 32km – a stunning 640 laps of an Olympic pool – to achieve their goal.
Currently, Ms Hegamaea is fitting 2km per day into her schedule, and encouraged anyone following along to sponsor her swim and help her raise $500 for the foundation.
“I’ve been pretty tired, but it’s worth it,” she said.
“Back home, I used to coach a lot of the junior kids as well, so it’s nice to know that this money is going towards kids.
To help Ms Hegamaea reach her fundraising goal, visit https://superswim.org.au/s-hegamaea.
As a former juniors swimming coach, kids hold a special part in Hegamaea’s heart. Photo: Supplied.
