Naantali Marshall - Staying Power
Naantali Marshall is accomplished, by anyone’s standards.
Starting her professional career as a pool swimmer, she has won over 50 State Age and Open titles and has held national titles and nationals’ records. For most, that list in and of itself would be an illustrious career in professional sport, but that’s just the beginning for Naantali. She’s also an Iron Woman, Mother, Surf Life Saver, Multi-Sport athlete, and Open Water Swimmer. These achievements, however, are not the things that make Naantali great.
It’s her refreshing attitude to fitness, competing and making sport a lifelong endeavour rather than a quick burn out, that makes her such a great role model for women and girls in sport.
Naantali on the podium (right) after winning bronze at Collangatta Gold after a nine-year break
Naantali has of course, achieved plenty over a long career, but it’s her ability to pivot and be mentally flexible with her approach that makes her such a breath of fresh air.
Naantali, through hard won experience has learned to value the process. She knows that it’s more about appreciating her body, and coming at movement with a sense of play, rather than punishment, that gives her longevity. This is something she hopes she can pass on to younger athletes.
When describing what she thought was the end of her professional sporting career after swimming, she recalls clearly that she still found fun in movement - “I wasn’t sick of training and hard work” in fact, she’d always liked that aspect. It was the clock watching mentality, and slim margins for determining success that had really been the aspects she’d disliked. It was with this in mind that she began Iron Woman Competitions – finding the freedom to quite literally run her own race.
Adaptation you’ll see, is a huge part of Naantali’s athletic longevity.
While she’s been training across many different disciplines, Naantali’s identity has never totally revolved around sport. As a young athlete, her mother instilled in her the importance of choice over obligation and a sense of self-directed ambition. At 11, her mum asked her to take a year off swimming to help her figure out if she really wanted to go to an elite level. She notes she doesn’t think she’d be still involved in sport if she hadn’t had that chance to gain a perspective and get the sense she was putting in the hours because she “wanted to do it”. Later in her Surf Life Saving (SLS) career, she was also able to gain fresh perspective - living what she calls almost a double life, working full time, living in Victoria and travelling to Queensland to compete on weekends. Swimsuits one day, power suits the next!
She reflects that the nature of SLS in particular has such an element of chance, that it’s not really healthy to have all your sense of self and achievement wrapped up in it, or any sport. A full life outside of competing means it’s easier to approach it with a sense of fun and a certain emotional distance, which is required to stay sane. That’s not to say she doesn’t have some thoughts of “what if”- ever a harsh self-critic, she wonders if not having fully invested her attentions to either swimming or SLS had prevented her from reaching what she refers to as the “pinnacle” of either sport.
One height Naantali can consider that she’s reached has come after what she considered the end of her professional career. Naantali has won the famous Pub to Pier open water race six times as a senior competitor. During that time, she also found her way into Multisport events. She said she finds the area more relaxed “it’s just you against what you want to do on the day”, and is learning to be kinder to herself - moving away these days from the competitive mindset. Naantali notes that now, she likes training better than racing in some ways. This is a theme that seems to run through Naantali’s career – though she’s been enormously successful, more important for her is that she just loves what she does.
This is something for young athletes to take away - an emotionally healthy investment in what you’re doing is something that can help you ensure that you’re in it for the long haul - not just for the medals and times.
You have to find the joy is what you’re doing. Having other outlets like Naantali has throughout her professional and casual sporting endeavours keeps things balanced.
Naantali and her daughter with the Danger 1000 Ocean Swim 2011 trophy
How young athletes experience sport and competing are now, of course a major part of Naantali’s continuing involvement in sport as a now as a SLS coach, an occupation she shares with her husband Sam. It’s been a learning curve for them both - dealing with the nature of young people, especially girls, and how to keep the experience positive, motivating and safe for everyone participating.
Sam and Naantali also have two children of their own, girls aged 10 and 7. As parents they have a shared vision of wanting to make sure their daughters are keeping healthy, but under their own steam. “You need to give kids the hunger, but it has to be the kid’s choice - they have to want it.” She says she finds her kids are happiest if they set their own agenda. While she thinks her and Sam’s sporting achievements are a part of setting a good example for their kids, she does stress that it’s important not to overplay achievement focused involvement in sport. She doesn’t want them to feel pressure to “succeed” or feel that they can only participate if they’re reaching the highest levels. For Naantali, she wants to ensure the winning is not the point of the activity. The focus should be on the “doing”.
This applies across the board for Naantali. From her kids to the athletes she’s coaching, and for the average amateur participant, enjoying what you’re doing is the key to being successful and staying involved in physical activity long term. She encourages people not to get caught up in labels. People who were not sporty as kids or in their school years, can still enjoy finding fitness.
She tells us “just try things. You’re not too old. Have a go at it. You don’t have to be fast at things”.
After all, Naantali is proof that the endorphins are worth it.
Pier to Pub Winners 2002
AUTHOR
AMY CONLEY. AMY IS A FREELANCE WRITER FOR THE AUSTRALIA TIMES AND ALSO WRITES FOR VOLUNTEER ORGANISATIONS LIKE ‘RIGHTS NOW’. AMY’S FULL BIO CAN BE FOUND HERE
SPECIAL THANKS TO NAANTALI FOR GIVING HER TIME TO US AT WHEN FOR AN INTERVIEW.
DISCLAIMER
THE CONTENT PROVIDED ON THIS WEBSITE IS FOR EDUCATION AND INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE INDIVIDUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL CARE. READ OUR FULL DISCLAIMER HERE