Bonnie Hancock

And I think that's part of being an athlete too.

You keep yourself so accountable, you know, you never count your chickens before they hatch.

And it was finally letting the monkey off the back

and allowing myself to enjoy it and even that last paddle before I came to shore, I remember this really clear memory of the sun was shining on the water and it created like this illusion of stars or diamonds and I reached down, I ran my hand along the water

And I thought, I'm grabbing these stars, these stars I've seen in the sky for so long in the Great Australian Bight.

It's like I can touch the stars now.

And it was that very moment that I realized I'm about to cross the line for a new world record.

And that pales in comparison to everything I've learned along the way into the person that I've grown into, into what I've had to overcome and

And the beautiful people were on shore waiting for me.

So it was actually in that final stretch that I realised that while crossing the line was going to be incredibly exciting, it was really that journey aspect.

And that was always what it was about, this paddle.

I crossed the line.

I threw my arms above my head.

I wheeled with delight.

And I got that new world record.

And I came back almost in the best way possible, a really different person to the 32-year-old who had left.

I've learnt that things don't have to be perfect to keep moving forward.

I've learnt to be kind to myself and know that you don't have to feel good all the time.

You can have so much self-doubt and keep moving forward.

and relying on the people around me, leaning on those around me.