Australia’s track and field resurgence is real, and it’s being built from the ground up, one training group at a time. This week, our host Magnus Olsen and Australian Masters Athlete Don Sanka Small are joined by Rajiv, an Olympian-turned-elite coach, and Maddie Scott, a former top junior sprinter who moved into coaching after injuries, to talk about what actually develops speed, resilience, and long-term athletes in track and field.

We get into the nuts and bolts of athlete development: why multi-sport juniors often thrive, why so many athletes disappear between 18 and 22, and what coaches can do to keep people training when results don’t arrive on schedule. Rajiv breaks down how NCAA scholarships work in the US collegiate system and why that pathway is tempting, while we also ask the bigger question for Australian athletics leading into Brisbane 2032: how do we keep talent here and keep it progressing?

We also go practical on performance. We talk sprint coaching with and without tech, the right way to use data, and the support pieces that can make or break a season: sports nutrition, strength and conditioning, recovery, and reducing injury risk when athletes juggle school, work, and other sports. Then we dive into hurdles coaching, mindset under pressure, and the growing pull of masters athletics as a genuine lifelong sport with community, purpose, and competition.

If you’re coaching, competing, or thinking about coming back to the track, you’ll get plenty to take away. Subscribe for more, share this with a mate who loves sport, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

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