Olivia ‘Liv’ Wunsch is a swimmer who was awarded a Tier 3 Scholarship within the 2024 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
Liv learned to swim at a young age at the Carlile Swim Centre in Ryde and continues to train and compete under the Carlile Swimming Team.
At the age of eight, Liv took part in her first NSW state swimming competition, marking the beginning of her competitive swimming journey. As the years went by, Liv began to focus more on her swimming and set her sights on greater achievements. In 2017, at the Pacific School Games in Adelaide, Liv proved her talent by claiming numerous national titles in freestyle and butterfly sprint events. The following year, Liv won seven medals at the 2018 School Sport Australia National Champs in Hobart, Tasmania. 2019 brought further opportunities for Liv to gain valuable experience. At just 13 years old, she participated in the School Sport Australia National Champs in Melbourne, where she won the 50m freestyle and contributed to the victory of the NSW state relay team. School Swimming proved to be a very valuable experience in Liv’s development as a young rising swimmer.
As 2020 approached, Liv was gearing up for her first Age National competition. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 forced the event’s cancellation, leaving Liv unable to train in her usual environments for months. Undeterred, Liv returned to competitions in 2021 and reignited her love for racing. At her first Age Nationals on the Gold Coast, she secured a trio of silver medals. The key takeaway from this event was learning how to perform under pressure on a national stage alongside the country’s top young athletes. In June 2021, Liv faced another significant milestone when she raced at her first Olympic Trials at the young age of 15. Her talent and hard work earned her a spot in the B final of the Women’s 50m freestyle, a pivotal accomplishment that qualified Liv for her first Australian Junior Team in 2021 (cancelled due to COVID-19).
The start of 2022 finally saw the recommencement of State and National competitions. In January 2022, Liv competed at the long course NSW State Age competition, claiming nine individual gold medals, including the 50-400m freestyle events, 200 IM, 400 IM, and 100 IM butterfly. In April 2022, Liv raced at her second Age Nationals in Adelaide, where she won three silver medals and two bronze medals. Her performance at the competition drew attention to her potential and from this event, she was selected for the 2022 Australian Junior Team. The team travelled to Hawaii in August 2022 and competed at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. At the competition, Liv raced in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 4x100m Freestyle Relay, and 4x 200m Freestyle Relay, coming away with three medals.
The beginning of 2023 proved a strong training block for Liv with her coach Michaela Pattinson. At the Age National Championships held in April 2023, Liv won five Age National Titles and qualified for her third Australian Junior Team to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Israel.
Liv is excited to be chasing her goals in the pool whilst currently completing her senior year of high school.
“I am extremely grateful to receive a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship. It is an honour to have this opportunity and I’m very excited to be named amongst such inspiring athletes across a range of elite sports. This scholarship will greatly assist my growth and development as a junior athlete as I continue to strive for my goals in and out of the water” – Liv Wunsch on being selected as a 2024 Tier 3 Scholarship Holder
Honours & Achievements
- 2023 Australian Age Nationals – 1st 100m Freestyle – 54.05 (2nd Fastest Australian 16-year-old Ever)
- 2023 Australian Age Nationals – 1st 50m Freestyle – 24.85 (3rd Fastest Australian 16-year-old Ever)
- 2023 NSW Short Course Metros – 56.76 (17-year-old NSW Record)
- 2022 Junior Pan Pacs – 3rd in 100m Freestyle
- 2022 Junior Pan Pacs – 9th in 50m Freestyle (Fastest Time Overall from B Final)
Social Links | Instagram: liv.wunsch
