RYLEY Batt, James Magnussen, Shelley Watts, Paige Leonhardt and now Port Macquarie can add Chloe Esposito to an ever-growing list of Olympians with links to the area.
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The 2016 Rio Olympic Games gold medal-winning pentathlete will hit the treadmill this Friday at Port Macquarie’s Anytime Fitness in support of Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA).
The aim is to raise $500,000 for SPA to help create a community that knows how to ask for help and give help. Anytime Fitness owner Craig Wright said the local effort hopes to net $2500 for the national fundraising total.
Despite being an Olympian, the 25-year-old has not always had it her own way and has seen the devastating effects depression can have.
“The message I want to get out there is that there is always someone you can talk to,” Chloe said.
“Taking your life is not always the answer.”
In 2012, Esposito’s family was rocked when one of their cousin’s took his own life. He was 13.
“I’ve seen what it’s done to them and I want to let people know it doesn’t have to be that way,” she said.
“I’ve never been in that situation where I’ve had those thoughts, but I know there are a lot of sportspeople out there with anxiety or depression that can lead to it.”
Esposito said she was lucky to have the support of her family.
“In my sporting career, it hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve been lucky when I have those times where I wanted to give up or not do sport anymore, I’ve had the support of my family,” she said.
“Without them I wouldn’t have gotten the gold medal because when I was down at times they were there to lift me up.”
Australia’s 2016 golden girl said this weekend’s visit to Port Macquarie was due to her aunt’s links to Anytime Fitness.
“They asked me if I’d mind doing a video for it, and I said why don’t I come up and actually get on the treadmill and help out that way,” she said.
“I want to raise as much money as possible and hopefully we can run the whole 24 hours on the treadmill and get as many people in the community as possible involved.
“If anyone wants to come down and say hello I’ll bring my medal down so it would be great to see some faces at 3am in the morning.”
She said it was “hard to believe” that her gold-medal success in Rio was now almost 12 months ago.
“When it first happened it didn’t sink in how big it was, but now it has and now I’m ready for the next one,” she said.
“I’d love to make it to Tokyo and give it my all.”
