Aussie Olympian's creepy discovery while doing backstroke: 'Burned the pool down'
'I can barely swim, but I'm positive I could beat Michael Phelps out of that pool if I saw that spider,' one person responded.
The 2024 Olympics are just around the corner and the best athletes across the world are training hard in the hope of selection as their trainers, fans — and seemingly other creepy crawlies — watch on.
Olympian and water polo champion Tilly Kearns, 23, was doing just that on Saturday at her training camp, swimming laps of backstroke at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, looking up at the maze of beams and lights above her as she went.
That's when she spotted something unexpected watching on, sprawled on the beam above her — a large, dark, eight-legged spectator.
'Of course, Australia'
"You're swimming backstroke in Australia and spot this on the roof above you," Tilly shared online alongside evidence of the spider above. "So we got out and burned the whole pool down."
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Despite huntsmans being relatively harmless compared to other Aussie spiders, many were terrified by the large spider in such an unusual spot. "I can barely swim but I'm positive I could beat Michael Phelps out of that pool if I saw that spider," one responded. "Do people appreciate how big that damn thing is?!" another said.
Others added how unsurprising it was this happened in Australia. "Of course, Australia," one simply wrote. "I'm glad Australia is nowhere close to me," a fourth replied.
Paris 2024 Olympics fast facts
Paris is hosting 2024's Olympic and Paralympic Games which will consist of 10,500 athletes and over 41 sports. Australia has selected 37 athletes from six sports so far for our 2024 Olympic team but the final team is expected to consist of around 460-480 athletes, according to the Australian Sports Commission.
The Olympic Games kicks off with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26 and will close on August 11. It will be broadcast in Australia on the Nine Network.
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