Arduous work pays off for Commonwealth Games bronze-winning Hazel Ouwehand

A misty-eyed Hazel Ouwehand has described the blood sweat and tears it has taken to get to the Commonwealth Games podium.

Featuring in her first Commonwealth Games closing, Ouwehand delivered an excellent bronze medal-winning swim in a frantic ladies’s 50 metre butterfly closing, touching the wall in 25.76 seconds behind Australia’s Alex Perkins and South Africa’s Erin Gallagher.

It was clear instantly after the race that the achievement hadn’t fairly sunk in.

“It feels like an empty ball bouncing around in [my head] at the moment, but give it a few minutes and it will sink in,” she mentioned when requested what was going by her thoughts after the race.

Later when she was standing on the rostrum, the achievement started to daybreak on her,

An emotional Ouwehand mentioned the sensation was “indescribable”.

“It’s 20 years of work that has gone into this medal.

“It was good to hug my team-mates and share that with them. My uncle’s within the crowd, my dad’s within the crowd, and my mum and my sister’s down the tip. There had been some lengthy embraces down there and plenty of tears.”

As a non-funded athlete, Ouwehand has juggled elite sport with part-time work as an accountant.

Covering the costs to get to Glasgow has required some hustle

A Givealittle page brought in about $7,000 to help Ouwehand get to the Commonwealth Games, the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and two training camps.

She was one of two recipients of last year’s Yvette Williams Scholarships, receiving $30,000 towards her Commonwealth Games pursuit.

The journey to get to Glasgow has taken a lot of work and money.

“Yeah, heaps and much. It’s been 20 years of arduous work, working by faculty, college, and now working as an accountant, 25 hours every week, so I can fund my journey, as a result of I’m not funded.”

Support from family and the accounting firm she works for had also been crucial.

Now with a Commonwealth Games bronze medal around her neck, Ouwehand said the uphill struggle had been worth it.

“Obviously it is not the color that I wished, however perhaps meaning I simply can’t retire for an additional 4 years at the very least.

Less than 24 hours after profitable her first video games medal, Ouwehand would line up within the 100 metre butterfly qualifiers on Sunday evening.