Ebony Ebenwaldner conquered a debilitating spine injury to reach the pinnacle of open-water swimming in January.By Marc McGowan
THE discovery of a debilitating deformity did not stop Dandenong North open-water swimming queen Ebony Ebenwaldner from reaching the pinnacle of her sport in January.
The 29-year-old has swum for most of her life, competing in three Olympic Games trials.
Ebenwaldner’s best result in the pool was a semi-finals finish in the 200-metre backstroke.
Since making the switch to the ocean, she has become one of Australia’s best exponents of the art.
But Ebenwaldner’s world was turned upside down last year when a doctor diagnosed her with Scheuermann’s Disease, a spine injury that limits sufferers’ physical activity.
“It was only through my own laziness that I hadn’t picked up on the pain sooner,” she said.
“I was running, trying to getting fit for last year’s Pier to Pub, and I started having pains in my back and couldn’t stand up.”
Despite being warned off open-water swimming, Ebenwaldner strived on to triumph in the prestigious Pier to Pub event for the second time this year.
The success followed her 2004 victory at her first attempt in the race.
“I’m basically not allowed to do anything on land, including running and porpoising (an open-water swimming technique),” she said.
“I do have a fear of running, especially when I know the consequence that I won’t be able to stand up straight and I’ll be in severe pain.
“Swimming is the only thing I can do, so I’m lucky – if I’d been a marathon runner I would have had to have quit.”
Ebenwaldner’s latest Pier to Pub win came over six-time race victor and former Ironman competitor Naantali Marshall, making it all the more sweeter.
“Naantali’s the best. I have the greatest respect for her; she’s better than anybody who’s ever been in Victoria,” Ebenwaldner said.
“There have been some very good swimmers over the years, but she always managed to come out on top.
“The last couple of years she hasn’t been training as much, so I was lucky enough to come out on top.”
And Ebenwaldner, who trained up to 30 hours a week in her youth, loves the variation in her new discipline.
“With pool swimming you go up and down a black line every single day, but in ocean swimming no race is ever the same,” she said.
“You go from the confines of two lane ropes either side of you in your own space in a pool to no lane ropes and everyone on top of each other.
“It is every man for himself and you have no option except to either stand up and face it or forget it.”
Ebenwaldner’s personal pursuits now share the limelight with her coaching, which sees her overseeing aspiring stars at Dandenong Oasis and older swimmers at the Casey ARC.
Her role at the latter is as the Casey Seals Masters Swimming Club head coach, a title she has held since 2006.
“People who never thought they could make qualifying times are now achieving that, and also people who have never really committed to anything are now committing to training twice a week,” Ebenwaldner said.
“These people are not young – they’re between 30 and 70 years old – and are making life changes.
“Whether somebody loses weight, gets fit or gets swimming times, they’re all successful because it’s measured in different ways.
“It’s not just about being the best at something.”
