Olympic race walker Beki Smith to 'Share A Yarn' with indigenous communities

She was an indigenous girl from Mount Druitt in Western Sydney, but seeing the likes of Cathy Freeman and Nova Peris achieve their Olympics dream made her realise she could too.

Smith is only the third indigenous Australian woman to compete in an Olympic athletics event and hopes to inspire the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes.

That's why the race walker has joined 12 other elite athletes to 'Share A Yarn' with remote indigenous communities across the country.

The Australian Institute of Sport initiative connects the ambassadors with indigenous communities to learn about their history, land and culture, to help enrich their position as representatives of Australia.

Smith, a proud Yuin woman, is the athlete mentor and hopes to guide the ambassadors through the 12-month program.

"From an athlete's point of view, it's a way for us to learn and gives us a greater sense of our country and who we are as a whole," Smith said.

"Indigenous, non Indigenous, we're all connected, When you put on that Australian uniform at the Olympic Games you want to fight for that, it's such a privilege.

"Having a greater understanding of Australia's history as a whole creates a sense of belonging for both indigenous and non indigenous athletes. That's only going to fuel the fire to perform your best for your country, especially when you're representing it.

"It's really important to learn our history and learn from it, and know our diverse culture. This initiative is perfect for that."

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The 'Share A Yarn' ambassadors reached out to the indigenous youth of Arlparra, a remote community in the Northern Territory, during National Reconiliation Week.

They were meant to visit the community and do activities with its people, but the coronavirus-forced social distancing and travel restrictions put those plans on hold.

The Arlparra youth have instead created videos about life in their community and spoken to the AIS ambassadors via online platforms.

For Smith, it's been an insightful experience to connect with remote communities through the program and says it's a way she can give back as an indigenous athlete.

"I sometimes feel there is somewhat a greater burden on indigenous athletes to be the voice and rightfully so," Smith said.

"For me, giving back to the community and having a voice on the platform as an elite athlete is something I see as an opportunity and one I don't want to waste.

"It's kind of my way to give back and not only help myself, but help others with my journey.

"I come from Mount Druitt in Western Sydney, a low socioeconomic area and I'm indigenous. I've been able to achieve this, so anybody can.

"If it inspires one person to fulfill their dream whether it be in sport, science or medicine, if they can relate to me in some way and see that I've done it, then hopefully it can motivate them to do it as well."

The 33-year-old race walker was on the edge of making her second Olympic team before the Tokyo Games was postponed in March.

Smith competed at the London Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but has since struggled with glandular fever.

She's been building up to a racing comeback over the past eight months and came third at the Olympic trials in February.

"In some ways [the postponement] was a good thing for me, it was a bit chaotic trying to rush to get on that team," Smith said.

"I was on the edge of making it, I've now had a bit of a break and a chance to set the mental aspects of it.

"I've done some other things that have been more fun at training, like yoga and strength training. Those little things keep you active and motivated.

"Over the next couple of weeks I'll get back into that physical side of training, getting out there a bit more and hopefully coming into next year, I'll be on that team."