by Bonnie Collings
Known by most as a gold medal winning cyclist, Kathy Watt also is a talented sports photographer. Her current exhibition, "Dream, Believe, Achieve, Sport and Beyond" is on display at the WAS Gallery until Saturday November 11.
The exhibition features Kathy's photography from various events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Tour de France.
Before competing in the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, Kathy was studying a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial and Scientific Photography at RMIT University. Returning to her course in 2000 after winning several gold and silver medals, Kathy decided she wanted to do more work in sports photography.
Kathy said there were many elements she tried to capture in her work, from humour to hidden stories.
"Sometimes there's things you can capture at the Olympics and Tour de France which tell a story, other times it's the scenery and the effort of the athletes," Kathy said.
"You see things if you're really looking for them, there was one time I saw a guy wearing polka-dot shoes doing sit ups!"
There are moments in her work that get Kathy's heart racing.
"There are moments in say the combat sports or gymnastics that really makes your heart beat when you're trying to capture them," she said.
"One of the combat photographers said to me once that when the athletes are in action, you have to be in action and then you capture all the good shots."
There are many photographs in the exhibition, making it hard for Kathy to choose a favourite.
"Every one of them has different memories attached," she said.
"There were moments at the Olympics in Japan during COVID, the Japanese baseball team outplayed America. They were celebrating, throwing the coach up in the air, but the stadium was empty. It was a bizarre moment, surreal, because normally a big part of sport is all the spectators."
"Dream, Believe, Achieve, Sport and Beyond" is on display at the WAS Gallery until Saturday November 11.
The WAS Gallery is open between 10am to 4pm from Wednesday to Saturday.