General News
5 September, 2024
Olympic hero visits
STUDENTS were in for a treat when local Olympic hero Penny Smith made a surprise visit to St Thomas’ Primary School last week.
The 29-year-old has been the talk of the region since her stunning Olympic bronze medal victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking home the medal in the women’s trap shooting.
Ms Smith had been raised in Camperdown before getting involved in shooting through the Noorat Gun Club after her brother had been a source of inspiration.
She visited the school assembly last Friday to answer questions and share her experiences from the Olympics.
St Thomas’ Primary School principal Matthew Uzkuraitis said the visit had been a wonderful source of inspiration for the students.
“It’s been amazing to have an Olympic bronze medallist come to our school, and super inspiring for our kids,” he said.
“It’s great recognition for Penny and the work she’s done, and a celebration for the community because she’s a local product.”
The students were given the opportunity to join Ms Smith on stage and ask questions, which included how excited she was to earn bronze, how she deals with pressure and if she wants to compete in the next Olympic games in 2026.
Ms Smith said bringing the bronze home had been the highlight of her career.
“I just tried to do the best I could and leave nothing on the line,” she said.
“There was probably more pressure in the qualifiers to get through to the finals because I needed to shoot a perfect 25 on back-to-back days.
“But there was certainly pressure in the finals, and when I won that was when the tears and emotions started.
“It’s special to be an Olympian – it’s something a lot of people dream of being, there’s a lot of sacrifices and hard work, so it’s certainly close to my heart.”
Mr Uzkuraitis said the students had spent some time thinking about their questions after learning the week prior the visit had been confirmed.
“It’s come around fairly quickly as Vanessa Marshall, our prep teacher, knows Penny quite well and was able to arrange for her to visit,” he said.
“We worked with the kids to get their thoughts down on what they would like to ask an Olympic medallist.
“It’s great, for the kids to be able to ask their questions and get photos with Penny, it’s wonderful to be able to provide this for our school community.”
Ms Smith said she had been enjoying the opportunity to bring back the bronze and share the success with the wider community.
“It’s really nice,” she said.
“It’s great for the community, great for the kids, and it’s really special for me to feel like I can give back to the community and share my story with them.”
