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4: Adam Spencer, the college athlete turned first-time Olympian

Fancy getting a ticket to Paris at 22? Adam Spencer has done it!Adam is an Australian middle-distance runner, currently studying at college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US. The 22-year-old is set to line up for his maiden Games experience, running the 1500m for Australia in what’s set to be one of the most anticipated events of the whole calendar.In this conversation, we talk about Adam’s impressive 1500m win in a stacked field at the Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide earlier this year. We rehash his breakthrough performance of 3:31.81 at London Diamond League in 2023, and why it meant so much to him. And we hear about life at college and the comical consequences of finishing last in your cross-country team.--
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Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

3: Avish Sharma, the sports scientist helping prime our athletes for Paris

Ever wondered who’s behind the scenes supporting our athletes to peak for the biggest races of their lives? This week we get a back-office perspective of high performance sport with sports scientist Avish Sharma. 
Avish dials in from an altitude training camp in St Moritz, Switzerland where he’s been supporting our Australian athletes in their preparations for Paris. We talk about how hills, heat and altitude help optimise performance, but also the soft skills required for creating a positive training environment. In other words, it’s all about a holistic approach. As an example, Jess Hull has spoken about numerous factors that have led to her breaking the 2000m World Record (5:19.70) and becoming 5th fastest woman of all-time over 1500m (3:50.83).Avish Sharma is a Performance Scientist (Physiology) at the Victorian Institute of Sport in Australia, working in the Athletics program. Prior to this, he was physiology and research lead at Triathlon Australia (2018 to 2021). He completed his PhD in altitude training (training prescription and periodisation at altitude in elite runners) at the Australian Institute of Sport and University of Canberra, whilst also supporting the Athletics and Swimming programs based there. His interests include endurance physiology (particularly optimising training prescription), holistic success factors for world class athletes, developmental pathways for sport scientists, being a mediocre surfer, and eating noodles.
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Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

2: Izzi Batt-Doyle, the professional runner who never gave up on her Olympic hopes

When Australian runner Izzi Batt-Doyle didn’t get selected in the marathon team for Paris, she didn’t give up on her Olympic hopes. Instead, she turned her attention to running fast on the track, clocking 14:49.75 over 5,000m in Liège, Belgium, to claim her spot on the team. That clutch performance just 11 days before the qualifying period closed put Izzi in the record books as fourth fastest Australian woman of all time over 5,000m.
In this conversation, Izzi shares how she dealt with the marathon selection disappointment and bounced back to run an Olympic Standard in the 5,000m. She also describes the wholesome fun that athletes have on training camps - Stewy McSweyn is apparently great at slam poetry, who knew?!
Izzi is a professional runner with Asics, co-founder and associate coach of Run As One and co-owner of café and running store, The Run House in Adelaide. She’s competed at the Tokyo Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, the World Athletics Championships, the World Athletics Road Running Championships and the World Athletics Cross-Country Championships, and is gearing up for her second Olympics in Paris.
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Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer

1: Zachary Gates, the sports journalist who broke the Australian women's marathon team selection controversy

Athletics was thrust into the mainstream media off the back of the women’s Australian marathon team selection for the Paris Olympics. Athletics isn’t accustomed to this kind of attention, and often gets swallowed up by other sports in the news cycle. The secret sauce this time? Controversy.
Zachary Gates, Olympic and Paralympic Games Reporter with Nine’s Wide World of Sports, is the journalist who broke the story on the women’s marathon team. In our conversation we talk about how he got the scoop, why athletics struggles for eyeballs, and how other sports leverage drama to get more viewers and engagement. We anticipate another potentially turbulent round of Australian Olympic team selections this week.
At the time of recording, we speculate about the Australian men’s 1500m team selection, on which Zachary has since published an article, naming Olli Hoare, Stewy McSweyn and Adam Spencer in the line up. Read that here
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Intro and outro music by Dan Beacom
Graphic design by Kate Scheer