Topics
- Achievements
- Olympian
- Resilience
- Sport
Sally Callie is a Triple Olympian, Current Olympic World Record Holder, Coach and Educator.
Sally began her Olympic Rowing career by chance; she was talent Identified as a teenager, having the ideal anthropometrical physical attributes of a potential Olympian. Within 14 months of learning to row, Sally was standing on the podium of the World Junior Championship receiving a silver medal for women’s single scull. Sally went on to represent Australia for the next 11 years, competing at three Olympic Games which cumulated with the national ergo record and the Olympic Record, both which still stand 14 years later. She credits her Olympic success to not just training the body, but unlocking the mind.
After the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Sally transferred her Olympic skills from the boat to the world of coaching and education. Tragically, however, not long after retiring with the Olympic record, Sally suffered a debilitating congenital brain injury where she was unable to walk, dress or take care of herself and spent a year in rehabilitation as a hemiplegic. The drive to live life to its potential stemmed from a newborn baby boy whom she had barely met. She had no choice but to apply her Olympic mindset to get back on her feet. She set goals, implemented Olympic habits, researched neuroplasticity obsessively and found a tribe of family and friends to help her stand on the podium again.
The combination of 3 Olympic Games and 1 year fighting for her utopia while horizontal has resulted in her dedicating her skills to helping others in the educational teaching space and within the sporting arena to turn their goals and dreams for life and career into reality. The term Being Olympic is about changing your mindset to achieving your personal best, no matter what that may be. Striving for Citius, Altius, Fortius in your life, career and business while mastering the art of building a stable platform of balance and clarity.
Today Sally applies the term Being Olympic, to her role as coach, educator and speaker. She is a member of the QLD Olympic Education Commission, manages the QLD Rowing school state team, teaches, coaches and inspires students at one of Brisbane’s leading girl’s schools. She finds it incredibly rewarding to be an active member and leader within a number of truly authentic educational communities that engage and inspires those who have a love for learning: where students, teachers and coaches collaborate, connect and learn.
Keynote Titles
- From Stroking The Boat To Stroking The Mindset
- Every End has a New Beginning
- From Stroke to Stroke
Testimonials
Sally is a speaker who will inspire and move any audience, she kept our 400 Graduation Ceremony recipients glued to their chairs with such a powerful and inspiring story. Sally is a truly remarkable achiever and human being. Sally spoke directly to the students, gave them a sense of their future, purpose, hope, and aspiration while affirming and linking this to the values of our University. She offered humour, made us think and had a strong message to our leavers which resonated with hard work, passion, resilience and curiosity.
Former Chancellor Of The University Of South Australia
Sally was exceptionally well received and did a truly magnificent job connecting with our clinical staff on the topic of "Young Stroke and The Potential for Recovery with An Olympic Mindset". As our staff listened intently you could sense they heard and felt her message of recovery. She revealed the gritty determination with which she harnessed the very techniques she had perfected as an elite athlete to stage a remarkable recovery from life threatening and impacting illness. From that experience she provided our team unique insights from her personal journey; insights for them to apply each and every day in the lives of our patients that they too may achieve the best possible outcome.
Director Of Medical Services
In 32 years of Professional Speaking I have had the joy of sharing the stage with many wonderful speakers and Sally Callie is simply one of the very best. Sally is an Olympian with a story for everyone. Her presentation on Bravery (I Am Woman Hear Me Roar!) held an audience of hundreds of Professional Speakers enthralled. Likewise, I have seen Sally reach the hearts and minds of school teachers and students. Her methodology, her ability to make the message and meaning transformative, is simply... stunningly beautiful. Every organisation, every conference group, can benefit from Sally’s Olympian story and that is just the first layer. The other layers give people inspiring learning for life!
Glenn Capelli