She remembers running barefoot in the saltwater, just ankle deep, trying to keep up with the long lopes of her dad.

Benita Johnson grew up learning how to race on the Mackay beach and it was her pacemaker, dad Tony, who gave her confidence that her Olympic dream would one day come true. The usual course they would take was along the sand and to the point, just a 20-minute run, that would always leave her straining for breath.