Olympics support from Leongatha
SINCE the beginning of the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea on February 9, Leongatha’s Norma Bellingham has been soaking up the coverage of the games and its athletes.
The volume of the television is noticeable as Norma waits to see her grandson Phillip Bellingham at the start of the cross-country skiing race.
“It’s very difficult for me to know when my grandson will be on television as I do not want to miss it! My technique is to let the television stay on all day to be sure to be there at the right time’’ she said.
At just 26 years old, Phil is participating in his second Winter Olympics. Going in he is confident of his medal chances in the discipline.
On Norma’s coffee table, family photos are everywhere, in the middle are newspaper articles about her grandson.
“Of course, I am very proud of him, and if my husband was still there, he would have been very proud too!’’ Immersed in old family albums, Norma remembers the beginnings of her grandson in the discipline.
“Phillip’s father, Russell, is a instructor at Mount Beauty School Camp at the base of Falls Creek ski fields, It’s thanks to his father’s job that Phillip was able to grow up in the mountains.”
“Russell has always done cross-country skiing, Phillip’s mother Anne too. Phillip started skiing at age 3, or even earlier! We can really say that he has skied all his life ” she said.
After competing at his first World Championships in 2013, the athlete participated a year later in the Sochi Winter Games.
On Friday, February 16 while Bellingham missed a medal he was ranked 77th out of more than 120 athletes at the Men’s 15km free.
Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie congratulated Phil, who finished above his World Cup rankings in Friday’s event.
We wish him the best for the future!
Huge support: Norma Bellingham, grandmother of Olympic Winter Games participant Phil Bellingham, was watching keenly as Phil competed in the men’s 15km cross country free ski event.
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