Florida Gulf Coast swimmer Ella Smith is following in her mom’s footsteps as she gets ready to head to Paris as part of an Olympic broadcast program.
The Melbourne, Australia native is the daughter of Nicole Livingstone, a three-time Australian Olympian in swimming. Livingston brought home three Olympic medals between 1988 and 1996, including silver in the 400 medley relay and bronze in the 200 back and 800 free relay.
After retiring from competitive swimming, Livingstone took up sports commentating and became a staple at the Summer Games; she has traveled to all six Olympics since her retirement to serve as a commentator for the swimming competitions.
The Paris Olympics will see Smith make her own debut behind the scenes of the sport on the broadcasting side. Smith will be participating in the Olympics Broadcasting Services (OBS) Broadcast Training Programme.
The program offers students hands-on experience and training in a variety of broadcast-related roles through a series of workshops.
Smith, a communications major who has expressed a desire to go into sports media, commented on her mom’s long career in and around the pool.
“I think it’s really inspirational to know that she had such an impact on the sport today, and she still does,” Smith said.
Smith just completed her junior year of college at FGCU after transferring from Indian River State College. In her first season with the Eagles, she helped her team to a 3rd-place finish at the ASUN Conference Championships, where she posted an 11th-place finish in the 200 IM.
Having been swimming for nearly her entire life, Smith has her sights set on continuing to follow her mom’s lead and compete at the Olympic Games one day.
Yeah Ella!
Congratulations, you’ll crush it!