RHIANNON Keith knows a bit about the highs and lows of sport.
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The former Ulladulla High School student represented the state in touch football, swimming and athletics, before a series of knee injuries and three successive reconstructions on her right knee cut her down just after she had been earmarked as a potential Australian rugby league representative.
That came when she was 16, an age at which many girls drop out of sport.
However Rhiannon said there was no chance of that happening, as her involvement in sport was vital to keeping her going.
“It’s just what I’ve grown up doing, it’s part of who I am,” she said.
“It’s what I love to do, and I’ve met so many people from all over Australia as a result of playing sport.”
The 21-year-old is in the final year of studies in exercise physiology at university, and while the course is challenging her work in the classroom struggles to keep pace with her activities outside it.
She plays rugby sevens in Sydney, and has been selected in the NSW squad.
With rugby sevens recently admitted as an Olympic sport, Rhiannon also has an eye on Rio de Janeiro.
“It’s just what I’ve grown up doing, it’s part of who I am."
- Rhiannon Keith
“One of my goals is to hopefully make Rio,” she said.
Later this month she is also trialling for a NSW team in the lingerie football league, after already having a bit of experience playing gridiron.
While the game is controversial, Rhiannon simply laughed, “I just want to see how it goes.”
However she said she was interested “in terms of body image and being athletic”.
During her gym training sessions Rhiannon is often surrounded by some of Australia’s top body builders, who have suggested she move into figure modelling – seen as a more natural alternative to traditional body building.
She has also been spending time power lifting, working on the disciplines of bench press, dead lift and squat.
“I hope to enter a competition by the year’s end,” Rhiannon said.
Because she weighed less than 63kg, she said the strength and muscle required for power lifting certainly helped when she was playing rugby sevens, which also placed a heavy demand on speed and endurance.
“It’s a really fast game, and you don’t see many big people out there unless they also happen to be super fit,” she said.
While she was involved in many different sports, Rhiannon said they all worked together not only to keep her fit and strong, but also to keep her interested.
“It’s really motivating to do different things at the same time,” she said.
* Throughout March the Times will be profiling several women involved in the local sporting scene as part of a focus on women in sport.