Australia’s Olympic champion Chloe Esposito is set to continue her winning gold streak this time with rings not medals.
Esposito blitzed through the final leg of the modern pentathlon at the Rio Olympics to secure herself gold and an Olympic record of 1372 points. Now her sights are set on a February wedding and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“We’ll be in Australia for quite a while, because I have my wedding … but it would be stupid of me to not continue [modern pentathlon],” she said.
Esposito met fiancé Matt Cooper in London at the 2012 Olympics but for the last two years they have lived more than 15,000km apart. Esposito moved to Budapest in late 2014 to train for Rio while Cooper remained in Australia. Since Esposito’s return home the couple are determined to spend as much time as possible together before training begins for the Tokyo Games.
“It will be hard, because that’s the only thing I have to work out with Matt, because I’m going to be married I don’t want to be spending that much time away from him again,” she said.
Chloe’s mother Suzanne Esposito witnessed the strain that the long-distance relationship had on the young couple throughout Chloe’s intense training regime overseas.
“They were always friends but they never thought they’d be in the same country at the same time,” Ms Esposito said.
Since being back in Australia Chloe Esposito has exchanged her Spartan-like training for wedding plans and relaxation.
“It’s been nice to just wake up and go for a run in my local area,” Chloe said.
It is also a time to catch up with family and for her mum it means having everyone at home in Casula for the first time in three years.
“It’s going to be strange, us being home all together under the one roof. I’m sure there’s going to be a few blues,” Ms Esposito said.
Despite the overwhelming fanfare that Chloe’s gold has garnered, the Esposito family has not let the attention change their lives.
“We’re just living a normal life again, but a little bit more crazy,” Ms Esposito said.