12/04/2026
So what does it take to be a world class Australian Athlete. Dedication, determination, consistency, commitment and of course talent? Yes and probably other stuff that ordinary Joes like you and I don’t possess. I’ve watched over the last few days the absolute world class event of the Australian Athletics Championships in Sydney and you cannot help but be awed by the athletes we have in our country. First of all, the training - these young adults have trained consistently for years, most of them through little Athletics and local clubs some starting as young as 5. Trust me, no one in that league just thought last year ahh I’ll give it a crack. Training is a daily occurrence with of course “rest” days to aid with hypertrophy and recovery. But their cross training schedule dependant on their sport is not 2 or 3 days a week for half an hour. It is purposeful, hard and meticulously planned. I’ve watched a training session and can honestly say take your Hyrox multiply it by CrossFit add in a hard ab session and then we will talk. Their coaches are invested in developing them as athletes but ensuring they are as injury proofed as possible. They fuel their bodies correctly and alcohol, ci******es, vapes and drugs have no place here. Support from family, work, uni and friends is huge. Parties may be missed, holidays must include gyms or spaces to train, work and uni may need to accommodate training schedules and time away at comps. Sponsorship is the elusive unicorn that everyone hears about but most never see. So all those comp trips come courtesy of the Bank of Mum and Dad or themselves. Injuries are inevitable- if you are a high level athlete there will be injuries but good physios, coaches, strength and conditioning experts will get you back on track- of course a season out means no times, lower track status and a risk of confidence in your body. It’s easy to see the local legends winning one day and be disappointed when they don’t get the result that you expected or maybe they deserved but that’s the absolute leveller that sport is. So hats off to all the athletes, the coaches, the Mums and Dads sitting in the cold uncomfortable stands for hours and to those who watch and applaud these legends because we are so in awe of what you do. ❤️
