Sporting Dreams Charity Ocean Swim Fundraiser

I'm Fiona Livock, and I'm swimming 10km in the ocean off the Sunshine Coast to raise money to help other athletes with disabilities through local charity, Sporting Dreams, set up by medal-winning Paralympian and motivational speaker Marayke Jonkers.

I'd love you too help us.

How? Swim with me or make a donation - or do both :) (100% of all funds raised go directly to help athletes with disabilities.)

A little about me: I'm a triathlete with amniotic band syndrome. Although different for every case, for me this affects all four limbs leaving me with deformed hands and feet (including missing fingers and toes), leg length difference (although not noticeable looking at me it has a significant impact on the difference in strength of left leg compared to right), cleft lip and palette (fixed when still a bub), hydrocephalus (requiring a permanent shunt to be needed). I also have mental health stuff - PTSD, depression and anxiety. Hobbies: Triathlon but it's become a lot more than a hobby. I put my heart and soul into it and have raced all distances from sprint distance up to a couple of full Ironman distances races.

My story: As a kid I grew up having learned the wrong lesson in life. I was made fun of and laughed at if I didn't get things perfect first go. Therefore, I quickly learned to give up. We all know learning to ride a bike isn't something you get perfect first go. Consequently, I never learned to ride a bike as a kid. I started running in 2014 and worked my way up to my first half marathon in 2016. I sat watching Mooloolaba Triathlon wishing I could do that but "knowing" I never could because I couldn't ride a bike. The next year my thinking started to change. I never thought I could run a marathon, but here I was doing that after five months. On Sunday, 2 October 2016, I got on a bike and learned to ride for the first time. Less than five years later, I finished my first full Ironman distance in a time that I felt proud of!

I love all aspects of the sport of triathlon but prefer the endurance distances. I'm looking forward to this new goal I'm challenging myself to with my 10km ocean swim. Training has been going fabulously with my super incredible coach working her magic to make this goal achievable.

I'm doing this as a challenge for myself, and to help raise money to help other athletes with disabilities because finding the money for things like specialist equipment is never cheap.

Can you please help with a donation?