
NSWIS LIGHTS UP – SARAH CARLI – OLYMPIAN (Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, TAFE Students)

The countdown is on to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) invites you to follow the journey of Olympian hurdler Sarah Carli.
ACTIVITY OUTLINE:
This is Sarah Carli’s remarkable story of resilience, grit and determination, spurred on by her love of running.
Topics covered include:
- Life and Death: A life changing accident and the comeback that followed
- Natural Instinct: Preparation and race day instincts
- Paris 2024: Eyes set on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
- Starting Out: The first steps in athletics
- The Winning Edge: Training and what it takes to have the winning edge
IS THIS A FREE EVENT? Yes
BROUGHT TO YOU BY: NSW Institute of Sport
SPECIAL GUESTS:
Sarah Carli had to overcome a significant setback to take her place in the Australian Olympic Team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Through perseverance and a remarkable story of resilience, spurred on by her love of running, she achieved her aspirations of competing at the Games.
Event Details
Event Type
On Demand
Delivery Platform
Duration
Price
FREE
Curriculum
Primary, Secondary
Main KLA, Strand, Sub Strand
PDHPE » Movement Skills » Movement Skill and Performance
Other KLAs
PDHPE » Interpersonal Skills » Health, Wellbeing and Relationships
PDHPE » Physical Activity and Sports Studies
Presenter Bio
Sarah Carli is a member of the Australian Athletics team and a NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder. She made her Olympic debut at the 2021 Tokyo Games and finished sixth in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Hailing from Wollongong in New South Wales, Carli marked her international status when at the 2011 World Youth Championships she claimed silver in the 400m hurdles.
Following a series of injury setbacks, Sarah returned to competition in 2018 and progressed on to earn selection for the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha where she achieved a semi-final placing. Following this career highlight, in December 2020 she ran a new PB of 55.09 and in doing so gained herself an Olympic qualification time for the Tokyo Games.
Sarah sustained a life-threatening injury while training in February 2021, putting her Olympic preparations on halt. When training alone at a local gym, she slipped and fell forwards when stepping onto a box – the bar on her shoulders crushing her neck. As a result she tore the artery in her neck that supplies blood to the brain – requiring a vein to be removed from her thigh and planted into the area to prevent a stroke.
Upon awakening from the successful procedure, Carli was informed that she could not exercise for five months – a prospect that did not sit well with the determined hurdler.
You can’t do anything over 120 beats per minute she was told. By March she could barely walk down her driveway, in mid-April she jogged 100-metres, and in June she cleared her first hurdle, racing in Townsville to secure her Olympic place.
Will This Event Be Recorded?
No
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Technology and Materials Requirements
- Reliable internet
- Device for viewing
- Paper / notebook
- Pen / pencil
More Information About This Event
If you enjoyed our series on Sarah Carli, CLICK HERE to view our other inspirational stories from Olympic and World Champion Paddler Jessica Fox and Olympic Diver Sam Fricker.
For more information on NSW Institute of Sport, CLICK HERE for our website.