Lisa Blackburn has quit her job and moved to Ottawa, Canada, to pursue her dream of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The 42-year-old will focus solely on her training over the next two years in her bid to compete in Brazil, at an age when most competitive swimmers have long retired.

Blackburn, who previously worked for Colonial Insurance, said that she will now be able to focus 100 per cent on her sport.

“I can now focus on all of the little things that make a big difference such as nutrition,” she said.

“The best part about this change is that I will now be able to focus a lot more of my time on rest and recovery.

“I haven’t been able to train like a professional in nearly ten years, so this is an awesome opportunity and I’m excited to have made this decision and be further committing to my dream of qualifying for the Olympics.”

Despite her age, Blackburn insists that the decision to relocate to Canada was not a difficult decision to make. She said that the transition had gone very well and was excited about the opportunities ahead.

“It’s not every day you resign from your job, leave your home and give up a comfortable life in Bermuda for the gruelling 24/7 training that is required to become an Olympian,” she said.

“I don’t want to have regrets in two years. I didn’t want to be sitting at my desk for the next two years, wondering what could have been.

“At first it was a hard decision to make, but now that the decision is made, I feel a great sense of relief! The journey has been amazing so far.

“Most people are encouraging, however some people just don’t understand why I would make such a big change at this stage in my life.

“I ask those same people ‘what is your dream, and what are you are doing to make it happen?’

“Life is too short to sit on the sidelines and wait for someone else to give you an opportunity. Sometimes, you have to make the opportunities happen for yourself.”

Blackburn is regularly in the company of swimmers more than half her age as she continues to represent Bermuda in overseas meets.

In August, Blackburn was part of a ten-member team that won 23 medals from the Caribbean Islands Championships in Barbados.

In Ottawa, Blackburn will be training with Dave Heinbuch, the head coach of the University of Ottawa Gee Gee swim team.

Heinbuch took over the Gee Gee programme after the 2012-13 varsity season. The native of Kitchener, Ontario, was a 1976 Canadian Olympian and has been a professional coach for more than 30 years.

The Gee Gee swim team are ranked in the top ten in the Canadian Inter-University Sport, having had great success since Heinbuch became head coach.

Blackburn’s decision to move to Ottawa was largely part driven by her relationship with Heinbuch.

The pair worked together from the late 1990s until 2001. Having dual citizenship also made the move easy for Blackburn who qualified for the Commonwealth Games for Canada and produced elite level results, including winning medals at the Pan American Games in 2003.

“Back then, being 30 and qualifying for the Commonwealth Games was unheard of,” Blackburn said.

“I can only imagine what people will say now that I am vying for the Olympics in my forties, but for me age is not a barrier or a reason to stop doing something that I love. It is just a number that I don’t pay much attention to.

“As Dara Torres, a US Olympic medal-winner in swimming at age 41, said: ‘The water doesn’t know how old you are’.”

Added Blackburn: “My experience and work ethic are assets that I draw on as positives. I have previously achieved the times I need to qualify for the championship meets on many occasions.

“This body and mind knows what to do. I just need to draw on what worked for me to reach those times again.

“Being in a familiar environment with coach Heinbuch, yet surrounded with a more accomplished group of swimmers, will help me be in the right zone to achieve my goals.”

Blackburn will be launching a fundraising campaign with Dream Fuel, a premier high-level crowd-funding platf