Lesa Muir, Belinda Brooks and Janet Musker are set for a big adventure.
Camera IconLesa Muir, Belinda Brooks and Janet Musker are set for a big adventure. Credit: Supplied/Andrew Ritchie

Olympian set for biggest challenge

Lauren Peden, Eastern ReporterEastern Reporter

Teams from around the globe will trek, mountain bike, kayak and complete roping sections for the XPD 2013 event.

Bayswater residents Belinda Brooks and Cindy Morgan are preparing to take on South Australia’s Flinders Ranges for up to 10 days with teammates Janet Musker and Lesa Muir.

‘The other competitors will be doing the race to either win or finish. Our goal is to finish so that we default to winning the all-female team to complete the XPD,’ Brooks said

PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

The 36-year-old Athens water polo Olympian, who came 10th in her age group for the 2009 Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, said it would be her toughest challenge yet, with walking her biggest hurdle.

‘I thought that walking would be a piece of cake. I was soon brought down to reality after walking for two hours,’ she said.

‘I have had to focus training around walking 12 hours or more to ensure my body gets used to carrying over 15kg and walking.’

She said she was expecting to be pushed mentally and physically like never before.

‘It’s probably four years of training and competing at the Olympics pushed into 10 days of XPD,’ she said.

She said the team would do everything together, including fitting everyone into a two-man tent.

‘Janet and Lesa will take on the navigation, Cindy and I will hopefully provide the live entertainment and lead in the mountain bike,’ she said. ‘The team has to be dynamic with supporting each other because everyone will have good days and hard days.’