Golden Girl
Policewoman shows law enforcers she is the one to beat at their games

By CPL Simone Liebelt

Security Police Services LACW Nicole Simon shows off her two gold medals, won at the Australian New Zealand Police and Emergency Services Games.

Photo by LAC Casey Smith

LACW Simon in training at RAAF Base Edinburgh.

Photo by LACW Melina Mancuso

A SECURITY policewoman from RAAF Base Edinburgh has run away with two gold medals at the 2005 Australia and New Zealand Police and Emergency Services Games (ANZPES).

Leading Aircraftwoman Nicole Simon, from Combat Support Unit - Edinburgh, won both women’s categories of the 10km road race and the cross country race, the only two events she entered.

More than 2000 competitors from various police, fire, ambulance, law enforcement and volunteer emergency service agencies participated in the national sporting competition, held at venues across Adelaide from April 9 to 16.

Events included table tennis, shooting, lawn bowls, martial arts, darts, salt-water angling, surfing and dragon boat racing, as well as favourites such as golf, netball and swimming.

LACW Simon was well prepared for the games, after competing in several 10km running events in the months beforehand. She won the International Women’s Day Fun Run in February and also competed in the Carisbrooke Classic, Newcastle Herald Run and the Race for Life.

Her weekly training regime consisted of 40km of running, three cross-country (cycling, swimming, rowing) sessions and four weight-training sessions.

The keen athlete said she entered the ANZPES Games because she loves competing, challenging herself and pushing her limits.

“I love the adrenalin rush of competition, especially when you beat yourself,” she said.

“I’ve always been into fitness and running and I do it for the challenge it provides both mentally and physically. It is a great sense of achievement when you set a goal, work hard and reach it.”

Although she didn’t expect to come away with both wins, she was happy to achieve a personal best time of 42:10 in the road race.

“I had been training for several 10km fun runs prior to the games, so I expected to do well in my two events given that I had been training hard and was in good form,” she said.

“Where my preparation has been solid and I feel good physically, I know that it is just a case of mentally getting into the zone.

I know what I am capable of so it’s just a matter of ensuring my focus remains on the race and not my competitors. It was nice to win at a level where I was representing my mustering and the Air Force, not just as an individual.”

She said the men were great to run with, but it was a shame there weren’t more female competitors in her events.

“Having more competition always forces you to dig deeper to find that extra effort, so it was disappointing that there were so few women competing,” she said.

“Running against the men, who at the top level are faster and stronger than the females, forced me to step up, so there was a sense of achievement to know that I can be competitive across the board.

“In the road race I ran with a Western Australian and a Victorian police officer, who encouraged me the whole way and discussed training and racing techniques [with me]. The thing that really stood out about the games was the sportsmanship shown in all the events; competitors competed hard but always fairly.”

LACW Simon has now set her sights on the Police and Emergency World Games in 2007, with plans to add a triathlon, duathlon and marathon to her list of events.

 

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