Kim Dalton was an incredible athlete and beloved daughter, partner and friend. Photos: Supplied.
Family and friends of Kiama’s Kim Dalton hope her words can resonate with readers from all walks of life, with the memoir of the national taekwondo champion being relaunched almost two decades after she passed away at age 24.
Kim Dalton was a determined and driven athlete on track to represent Australia at the Athens Olympics when she was diagnosed with a rare and deadly cancer which transformed her perspective on life.
She was just 21 when she received the diagnosis of adrenocortical carcinoma and started treatment, which would include major and often risky surgeries with months of pain, countless scans and chemotherapy, which she endured while still pursuing training and competition opportunities, before she died peacefully in 2005.
But Kim was so much more than her disease.
“She was bright, intelligent, quirky, full of fun, loved to joke around, high energy,” her mum Marie Dalton said.
“She just loved to have a laugh.
“Kim was calm, grounded, wise, mature beyond her years,” her friend Lisa O’Keefe said.
“Really humble, a quiet achiever, tenacious and determined but really soft in nature.”
Her partner at the time Robert Cooley, who also coached her, experienced both sides of her incredible potential as an athlete and in her everyday life.
“She was caring, considerate; she didn’t like confrontation, although put her in a competition with rules, she’ll go down fighting to win and to do her best.
“She was very strong with her mindset – one of the strongest minds I’ve come across, as a person, as an athlete, as a friend.”
That strength shines through her own words in the book The Real Fight, with her perspective and account of her journey allowing Kim to connect with others and share important lessons, even years after her passing.
“She had a lot of wisdom even though she was very young and that resonates with people,” Marie said.
“She doesn’t talk about how to recover from cancer but she talks about how to deal with knowing that you’re going to die and not using that as an excuse not to live.
“It stops people in their tracks to think what’s important in life,” Lisa said.
“We get so caught up in so much stuff whether it’s social media, materialism or whatever it might be, and I think this book helps people to stop, take a moment and think, ‘Actually what’s really important in life; what are my values and am I living my values?’
Now 20 years later, her book is being relaunched in the hope more people could benefit from her wisdom and honour her memory.
“I promised her I would,” Robert said. “A couple of days before she passed I said, ‘I’ll keep your legacy alive and no-one will forget you.'”
Even though some aspects of the book, such as having a Walkman, may be outdated, the messages are just as relevant today as the day Kim wrote them.
“I’ve visited her book many times over the years because I still want to remember how she dealt with it,” Marie said.
“Since then I’ve also dealt with my own cancer journey and after being diagnosed myself I continue to learn from her on life and love.
“You see it through a slightly different lens each time you read it because you’re either older or you’re going through something; you’re looking at it differently all the time.”
While for her family and friends the story is deeply personal, what she has to share is universal.
“She was a beautiful girl in both her soul and her attitude to life and I just think her book is worth reading to learn those lessons because it doesn’t matter if you’re a 24-year-old like she was or whether you’re in your 70s as I’m heading now, there’s something for most people,” Marie said.
“It can help in all aspects of life – if you’re a carer, or someone that’s not well, if you’re a parent, or an athlete,” Robert said.
“I find it’s a bit like Kim’s little book of how to live life,” Lisa said. “It’s relevant to everyone and anyone.”
The Real Fight is available to purchase, with an audiobook to be released soon.
For more information visit The Real Fight Facebook page.
