Moree teenager Shakira Tyson-Barlow is making waves in the pool, having recently been selected to compete in the 2017 Pacific School Games for diving.
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The 14-year-old Pymble Ladies College student placed third in the 15 years diving competition at the NSW All Schools Diving Championships, held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, on Friday, May 12.
Shakira will now go on to represent her school at the 2017 Pacific School Games in Adelaide where she will be competing against some of the best school-aged divers from 15 countries throughout the Pacific including New Zealand, China and Indonesia from December 3 to 9.
Qualifying for the Pacific School Games has been Shakira’s goal since she narrowly missed out on the opportunity to compete a few years ago, so she was thrilled to finally make it.
“I got the chance this time, so I was really happy and excited,” she said.
Shakira’s love of diving developed after picking it for school sport in 2012 during her first year as an indigenous scholarship student at Pymble.
“When Shakira came to Pymble in year seven she just so happened to come into my connect group, I was her teacher,” Pymble Ladies College diving coordinator Chris Lang said.
“I had another girl from Lightning Ridge who was her friend and I said to Shakira she should come along to diving.
“She was pretty ordinary at that point. I taught her four dives and she got through to the next level and then she got bitten by the bug. She just started diving and improving more and more.
“She’s quite amazing now for someone I never thought would make it this far. She’s a lovely diver.”
Shakira is one of seven girls from Pymble who will be competing at the games in December.
She will be competing in four events – the one metre springboard, three metre springboard, synchronised event (two divers), and the team synchronised event with six divers.
[Shakira] is quite inspirational. She is a delight to teach and coach and I am so very proud of her success.
- Chris Lang, Pymble Ladies College diving coordinator
“There are some significantly elite divers who are competing against Shakira,” Mrs Lang said.
“The girl who came first at All Schools will probably go on to be an Olympian.
“Shakira is amazing to be even near that level. She’s quite inspirational.
“She is a delight to teach and coach and I am so very proud of her success. Success stories like Shakira are one of the incredible joys of teaching.”
I enjoy how you can learn new things every time at training.
- Shakira Tyson-Barlow
Shakira is passionate about her diving, managing to fit four to five training session a week in amongst her busy schedule which includes participating in a range of other sports including basketball, netball, tennis and rugby sevens.
“I enjoy how you can learn new things every time at training,” Shakira said of her love for the sport.
“There’s always a new dive to learn or techniques to work on.”
Her favourite dive is the inward one and a half one metre.
Shakira’s mother, Rachael Barlow said the whole family is proud of her success.
“She has worked hard to get to where she is today with her diving,” she said.
“She has been a great role model for her brother Jayden and sisters Mika and Rachael. Her sister Mika, who also has a full indigenous scholarship for Pymble Ladies College, says she hopes to be just like her sister Shakira one day.
“My Barlow family is Shakira's number one supporter and her nan and aunties on her dad’s side are also very supportive. Being a single mother of four children I'm over the moon and very proud of Shakira and how much she has achieved in the last three years.”
Shakira now needs to raise $1,700 to get to the Pacific School Games in December. If you would like to help her get there, contact Rachael Barlow on 0400 660 766.
