Danielle Merlyn Kettlewell is an Australian synchronised swimmer who competed in the team synchronised swimming event in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. She was vice-captain of the Australian team which placed eighth overall with 75.4333 in the free routine and 74.0667 in the technical. She was also selected as Australia’s first Mixed Duet in the sport of artistic swimming for the 2019 FINA World Aquatic Championships. She is now a coach and motivational speaker. 

Who is Danielle Merlyn Kettlewell?

Danielle was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada to Australian parents, the youngest of 5 siblings (2 brothers and 2 sisters). Since young, she was exposed to the world of swimming and gymnastics and at the age of 8, entered the world of synchronised swimming (now known as “artistic swimming”).

Now, you might think that she is a “typical” elite athlete who has always topped her year, had a natural affinity for her sport and ended up, inevitably, on the Olympic world stage. 

You couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Unlikely Olympian

Danielle is the first to point out that she is an “unlikely Olympian”.

She didn’t have the right body type. Was never flexible enough. Was the “chubby one” on the team. The reserved at Nationals and didn’t even rank in the top 100 in Canada!

To top all that in October 2013, she was involved in a horrifying incident at training that resulted in her having a major concussion and needing to drop out of university to recover. A situation that resulted in her feeling extremely depressed. 

2013/14

But in the worst of times, something quite unexpected happened. She had the chance to compete for a spot on the Australian national team seeking to qualify for the Rio Olympics!

Rio Olympics 2016

And in this STIMY interview, we dived deep into:

• The process of being qualifying to be a part of the Olympic synchronised swimming team; 
• What she did to go from No.16 out of 16 to No.4 in the team rankings; 
• How synchronised swimming teams were selected to participate in the Rio Olympics 2016 (p/s: it’s not really about being the best in the world!);
• What it was like to participate in the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics;
• What it was like training and participating in the Rio Olympics; and
• Transitioning back to the “real world” after the Olympics.

Olympic Myth Busters

We do a lot of myth busters in this episode when it comes to the world of Olympics, and also the fact that men are discriminated against in the artistic swimming sport! 

Some things we discussed include:

• Do all Olympians end up becoming rich and famous? (spoiler: she finished the Rio Olympics with $300 in her bank account!!);
• What it is like to train to be a synchronised swimmer (now known as artistic swimming);
• Why she decided to retire a second time & not try for her second Olympics;
• The inherent sexism against men in the sport; and
• Why the mixed duet was rejected from the 2020 Olympics (and why there is hope that this might change for the 2024 Olympics).

The Future

Danielle has now retired for the second time for the sport and is passionate about coaching people to pursue their dreams. Some advice she shares include:

• What are the 3 questions you should ask yourself every day to transform yourself just like the Olympians do?
• Her CLARITY Code

For more details, visit the show notes at https://www.sothisismywhy.com/12