Zac happy back in Broome

After seven long years training and competing towards representing Australia on the international swimming stage, Broome’s Zac Incerti had his homecoming. The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games medallist returned home to Broome last week as he and his fellow WAIS swimmers, including Olympian Brianna Throssell, travelled to the Kimberley town for a week-long training camp and competed in the Kimberley Inter-Club Swim Meet last weekend. Speaking to the Broome Advertiser, the 24-year-old said while he was no longer as adapted to the warmer weather as he once was, it felt “very nostalgic” to be back in Broome. “Driving around town and seeing my old school, the pools at BRAC and seeing my old swimming coaches really made me feel all nostalgic and I got a bit emotional,” he said. “It was really cool to come back after so much time away.” Incerti said he also enjoyed running swimming workshops with local young swimmers and hosting talks with students at Broome Senior High School. “I really wanted to spread a message that you can come from anywhere and become an elite athlete if you make it happen,” he said. “Just because you live in a regional town doesn’t mean you can’t make it as well.” Despite an element of uncertainty continuing to surround the Tokyo Olympic Games, which were rescheduled to July 2021, Incerti said it had been “business as usual” as he continues to train hard. “The main message my head coach has been spreading is that Tokyo is happening no matter what, so that’s my mindset going into it,” he said. “I don’t want to burn out at this time of the year so I’m just taking everything as it comes — I’m keeping positive and just looking towards the Olympics. “I think, especially in these times, it’s very important to stay positive and have a healthy mindset, particularly for athletes that dedicate their life to one event that happens every four years. “The good thing is we’re all in this together and I want people to know it’s very important to check up on your friends and family during this time.” Incerti’s strong message comes several months after sharing a moving video to his Instagram, reading a letter he wrote to his anxiety, which had gradually taken hold of his mind as he has fought to become one of Australia’s best freestyle and backstroke swimmers. He said the support he received since sharing his personal struggle was “overwhelming and unreal”. “When I first started receiving support about this, I hoped people didn’t just think I did it for popularity reasons,” he said. “I really wanted to spread the message and hopefully help people out. People were actually writing their own letters and sharing them with me, which was really overwhelming to me. “It was a really emotional time and since then I feel like I have been doing very well. “I think normalising the fact mental-health issues like anxiety are real and it is a stigma is really important and I think we can all work together and fight it for sure.”