All about Australian Swimmer, Chelsea Gubecka

Chelsea Gubecka is a Beloved 25-year-old Australian Swimmer, who started swimming at the age of just 5 months and started officially swimming in 2013 is now qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and she previously competed in the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Twenty-five-year-old Chelsea was thrilled to be the first athlete selected for the Australian Olympic Team for Paris 2024

Chelsea Gubecka is an open-water swimmer. The Australian Olympic Committee announced that she will be part of the Australian Olympic Team for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Chelsea will compete in the 10km marathon swimming event in the famous River Seine. This is special because swimming events were held in the same river 124 years ago at the 1900 Paris Olympics.

Chelsea trains under her coach Kate Sparkes at Yeronga Park Pool in Brisbane. She was overjoyed to be the first Australian athlete selected for the Paris 2024 team.

“It feels completely unreal.”

said the 25-year-old swimmer from Queensland.

A picture shows Chelsea Gubecka receiving her ticket or confirmation to compete in Paris.

Chelsea Gubecka started Learning swimming since 5 months old

Chelsea Gubecka was born on September 8, 1998, in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. She has one younger brother named Jack Brazier and two younger sisters named Chloe and Mackenzie. As the oldest child, Chelsea has always been a role model for her siblings. She enjoys being a mentor and hopes her brothers and sisters can learn from her experiences.

Chelsea Gubecka Family
Image: Chelsea with her family members (Source: Chelsea’s Facebook)

When Chelsea was just five months old, she began taking swimming lessons. She grew up on the Sunshine Coast, so she has been around water her whole life.

Chelsea Gubecka is already married

Chelsea Gubecka is already married. Her husband is Reed Douyere-Pate, who works as a lifeguard at Dunlop Park Memorial Swimming Pool.

Chelsea and Reed got married in the year 2018.

Chelsea Gubecka Husband
Image: Chelsea posing with her husband Reed (Source: Chelsea’s Facebook)

Chelsea often shares about her married life and posts pictures with her husband Reed on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook.

Starting of Her Career

Chelsea first competed at the international level when she was just 14 years old at the 2013 World Championships. She qualified after beating dual Olympian Mel Gorman in the 10km Open Water event at the Australian Championships that same year. In her first time swimming for the Australian Dolphins team at 14, she finished 29th in the 10km event and 13th in the women’s 1500m freestyle race.

When Chelsea made her debut for the national team, she did not know what to expect as a young teenager. Everything was new and confusing when traveling to different countries. Now she feels she takes in and understands more each time she travels for competitions.

Chelsea has a strong background in ocean swimming from previously competing for the Maroochydore, Kawana, and Dicky Beach lifesaving clubs. Her first time representing Australia’s swimming team was at the 2013 World Championships at only 14 years old.

This year, after finishing Kawana Waters State College, Chelsea began studying for a Bachelor of Business (Management) degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). She balances her university studies with intense training, swimming 80 to 100 kilometers per week, along with gym workouts and pilates. USC provided Chelsea with a gym and pool membership for the duration of her studies there.

Chelsea Gubecka as a Professional Swimmer

Now at age 25, Chelsea Gubecka has spent 10 years on Australia’s open water swimming teams, including competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics. As she aims for her second Olympic journey in Paris next year, she feels renewed excitement despite having some small doubts before today’s race.

Chelsea qualified for her first Olympics at the final qualifying event in Setubal, Portugal, where she beat fellow Australian swimmer Kareena Lee and finished fourth overall. As a teenager in 2015, she narrowly missed automatically qualifying for Rio at the World Championships by placing 13th, as only the top 10 finishers earned spots for the Olympics that year.

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At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Chelsea finished 15th in the 10km open water swimming event.

This year, Gubecka won the silver medal at the World Championships and is a six-time national champion in Australia.

She was named Swimming Australia’s ‘Open Water Swimmer of the Year’ three times – in 2015, 2016, and 2017.

The head coach of Swimming Australia, Rohan Taylor, said it was special for Chelsea to be announced for Paris 2024 by the Chef de Mission Anna Meares, as Chelsea named Meares as the athlete who inspired her the most.

Chelsea Gubecka’s Best Achievements:

Olympic Games Rio, Brazil 2016

  • Placed 15th in the Women’s 10km Open Water event

World Championships Barcelona, Spain 2013

  • Placed 13th in the Women’s 1500m Freestyle

Pan Pacific Championships Hawaii, USA 2014

  • Won bronze in the Women’s 10km Open Water event

The marathon swimming and triathlon swimming portion will happen in the River Seine for the 2024 Paris Olympics, marking swimming’s return to this river for Olympic competition for the first time in 124 years since 1900. Having the river as a swimming venue again is considered an important long-lasting outcome for Paris.