Early mornings are part of Jaimee Roger’s life.
As a young athlete Jaimee was a national level swimmer and trialed for the Olympics. Keeping company with some of Australia’s greatest swimmers.
Swimming at this level means years of hard work and sacrifice. Early starts at the pool. Repeatedly pushing your mind and body to its limits.
Often the difference between winning gold and obscurity can be determined by the millisecond. It was injury that forced Jaimee away from competitive swimming and she’s lived with the weight of 'never quite making it as an Olympic athlete'.
These days Jaimee co-host's a breakfast radio show on the Big Sports Breakfast, in Sydney.
More early starts.
When she leaves for work, both of her young children are usually already awake. To make this delicate balance possible, the well-known media professional and busy mother of two means every single minute of her day is accounted for.
After nearly 20 years away from competition Jaimee is ready for a new challenge. She is training for an 35km open water swim across The English Channel for her first time.
In this episode I talk with Jaimee about swimming and the role it plays in her life. The beauty and challenges of open water swimming. The importance of community. As she prepares for this epic adventure of a lifetime.
Please enjoy,
Az ✌️🏊♀️
Jaimee Rogers Intro (03:01)
Becoming the TAB Lady (04:05)
Managing two roles and study (11:00)
Competitive swimming & injury (17:35)
Breaststrokers are their own kind (23:43)
Why the English Channel? (24:45)
The distortion of being surrounded by uncommon people (30:01)
Details and logistics of The English Channel swim (33:08)
Being out of my depth with open water swimming (35:16)
Time away from swimming (38:06)
Training, preparation and nutrition... (39:40)
What's it like being out there in the vast open-ness? (47:40)
The open water bug (51:45)
Mental health and suicide awareness (54:58)
How do you take care of yourself? (58:38)
A process of learning (01:03:45)
What does success look like? (01:09:29)