Raising an Olympian: Keri-Anne Payne

Team Mom Staff

By Kim Hookem-Smith |Yahoo Lifestyle

Champion open water swimmer Keri-Anne Payne won silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, but things could have been very different after a disappointing finish in the 2006 Commonwealth Games left her questioning her future.

Related: British royal chosen for Olympic team


Payne wanted to walk away from the sport when the Commonwealth Games yielded no medal. Having always been determined to succeed and having pushed herself to the limits, fourth place wasn't enough for the swimmer. It was some time before she felt ready to dive back into her training for the 2008 Beijing Games.

"After coming fourth in the Commonwealth Games, she was very disappointed in herself," remembers her mom, Pat. "We thought it was wonderful -- but she didn't. "As her mum, I just had to sit by and be a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to and help her get back into her training and back into the competitive side."

Pat Payne looks overwhelmed as she walks through Hyde Park, imagining her daughter arriving in August for her 2012 London Games: "It's a very iconic place, Hyde Park. It's hard to even concentrate on it sometimes. Knowing what she's gone through, how hard she's worked, it's nerve wracking for the whole family really."


Keri-Anne Payne and her mom are hoping for a repeat of her triumph in Beijing, where she achieved a silver medal for the 10km open water race.

"When she won the silver medal we opened bottles of champagne and danced out into the street and woke everyone up!" says Pat Payne. Looking forward to August she adds, "It will be amazing, seeing all her hard work come together."

The Raising an Olympian video series, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, profiles athletes, their dedicated efforts to make it to Olympic games, and the mothers who had tremendous impacts on their lives. Check out Team Mom on Yahoo! Shine all summer for the full video series.

Also on Shine:
Raising an Olympian: Henry Cejudo
Raising an Olympian: Diana Lopez
Raising an Olympian: Kortney Clemons
Raising an Olympian: Ryan Lochte
Raising an Olympian: Kerri Walsh-Jennings
Raising an Olympian: Shawn Johnson