Olympic finalist Linden Hall stops by This Is Athletics to chat all things Quokka Track Club and fueling for athletes. 

Combining her passion for athletics and degree in nutrition, Linden breaks down her training weeks and fueling under different settings, providing insight into what it takes to power an elite athlete.

Making history when becoming the first Australian woman in history to shatter 4-minutes for the 1500m in 2021, Linden progressed to finish in sixth place at the Tokyo Olympics, returning in 2022 to clinch fourth at the Commonwealth Games. Linden speaks on the current depth of Australian distance running for both men and women and touches on some plans for the year ahead which culminate in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. 

A member of the Athletics Australia Athletes' Advisory Committee, Linden discusses the collaborative approach to introducing new ideas to Australian athletics and maximising the voices of athletes. 

Episode 9 of This Is Athletics sees one of Australia's best middle-distance runners in history pop in to chat all things World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, with Jessica Hull joining Matty Denny with two weeks until race day.

Jess currently holds seven national records and finds herself back in Australia from the United States for the summer, selected to represent her country in the Mixed 4x2km Relay where she will chase a world title alongside Stewart McSweyn, Abbey Caldwell and Oliver Hoare. Jess provides insight into her preparation and also how anyone can be involved in what is set to be a great festival of running in Bathurst over three days from February 17-19. 

For more information about the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst, visit www.worldathleticscrosscountry.com

With white hair and whiter skin than most, two-time Paralympian Chad "The White Tiger" Perris' comparison to a big white cat roaring around the track is of little surprise to his teammates, but the two-time Paralympian is as ferocious a competitor as his nickname leads you to believe. 

Chad is Australia's fastest ever Paralympian over 100m. He ran 10.83m in Rio in the T13 class to win bronze and shaved his time down to 10.76 in 2019. While his Tokyo campaign ended with a disappointing fifth place, the 30-year-old is proving to be evergreen, having run his second fastest legal time just last weekend.

This International Day of People with Disability, Chad sits down with Matt Denny to talk about being one of 1000 Australians born with albinism, living with a vision impairment, and his love for Call of Duty and Fulham FC.

Kelsey Lee Barber caps off a dream year with a special appearance on This Is Athletics to chat all things gold with host Matt Denny. 

Barber made history at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon when successfully defending her 2019 World Title from Doha, launching the javelin 66.91m to clinch gold before doubling the dose again with gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The 31-year-old invites listeners into the mind of a champion and provides invaluable insights into entering competition mode, playing with the crowd, and the mass of both internal and external expectation. 

Coached by husband Mike Barber, Kelsey discusses how the pair balance their relationship and opens up on some of her off-track interests, while Denny reveals a backlog of cancelled episodes due to one crucial preference. 

With the 2023 World Athletics Championships set to be held in Budapest, Barber drops some hints for her future plans including the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and 2025 World Athletics Championships in Japan - with history at her fingertips. 

Freshly crowned Commonwealth 1500m champion Oliver Hoare joins Matty Denny in Zurich! 

Ollie Hoare has a long list of achievements to his name but none greater than his 3:30.12 Commonwealth Games record to clinch gold in Birmingham, becoming the second fastest Australian man in history over the distance behind only Stewart McSweyn. The 25-year-old shattered the national record in the Mile with a 3:47.48 performance in Oslo in June, and holds a handful of national indoor records in the 1500m (3:32.35), Mile (3:50.83), and 5000m (13:09.96). 

An obsession with Mountain Dew, his Coffee Club Podcast, and famed bulldog Gus all find their way into an episode packed with track and field insights from a man who has done it all from Olympic finals to NCAA titles. Enjoy Ollie's laid back nature as he invites you into his life as one of Australia's latest heroes. 

Be sure to leave a review and let us know who you would like to feature on the show next via Athletics Australia's social media channels! 

We don't know about you, but we're still in elean-awe of Eleanor!

Our golden girl Eleanor Patterson soared to victory in the Women’s High Jump final at the World Athletics Championships, delivering a sensational performance that saw her become the first Australian Women’s High Jump gold medallist and only the 10th Australian able-bodied track and field athlete to claim a world title.

The 26-year-old recorded a new personal best of 2.02m, equalling Nicola Olyslager’s Oceania and Australian record, but what was most impressive was her comeback after finding herself knocking on the door of elimination from competition. After sailing through the first four heights, Patterson found herself jumping to stay alive in the after failing to clear the height twice at 1.98m. Then in fourth place, she cleared her indoor personal best of 2.00m on her second attempt, but with four others ahead of her, the Leongatha native needed to clear new heights to put herself back in medal contention.

An unsurmountable height for many, Patterson cleared 2.02m with ease on her first attempt and skyrocketed to gold when her rivals missed the height. Only one of her three opponents managed to clear the bar, with World Indoor Champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) achieving the feat on her second attempt.

The champ is here. 

Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario joins Matty Denny for Episode 4 of This Is Athletics! Madi chats all things Tokyo including that historic gold medal in the Women's Marathon T54 on the final day of the program, along with covering a range of topics from using her platform to promote key messages regarding society and disability, to having her very own Barbie doll created after an unexpected brand alignment, and even a shoutout to the genie from Aladdin. 

There's a lot to learn from Madi's experiences in sport, but even more so from her insights into living with a disability and the progress that we can all make in our day-to-day lives - you don't want to miss this! 

Liz Clay is an Australian 100m hurdler, Olympic semi-finalist, and the second fastest athlete the nation has produced in the event's history behind only Sally Pearson. The back-to-back Australian champ joins "This Is Athletics" and Matty Denny to chat all things life both on and off the track, including winning a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, tattoos, comparisons to Sally Pearson, her graphic design side hustle, social media and much more. An authentic individual with unique perspectives, Liz welcomes you into the mind of one of Australia's brightest athletic prospects. 

Be sure to leave us a review and let us know which athletes you would like to feature on the show via our social channels! 

"Sport is about competing, but it is also about so much more than that. If we can touch people's lives if I've done that today, for anyone, that's a gold medal in another way." - Jaryd Clifford's famous words from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Jaryd Clifford went to Tokyo with one goal in mind. He'd won two titles at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. Paralympic gold was the next logical step. But as he crossed the line second in the men's 5000m T13, Jaryd was physically spent. In his post-race interview, Jaryd broke down as he talked of not achieving his goal and of racing for his late grandfather. 

He struck a chord with the Australian public with his emotive words, but seven months later, the 22-year-old has had hard reset, taking his learnings from his breakthrough Games as he works towards his goals both on and off the track. 

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Show Notes:

Jaryd Clifford is an ambassador for Weet-Bix Active Bands - a product owned by Athletics Australia and Sanitarium that helps get kids moving. To find out more or to order an Active Band, visit www.weetbixactivebands.com.au

Episode one of Athletics Australia's "This Is Athletics" podcast sees Olympian Matty Denny catch up with Tokyo-teammate and good friend Cedric Dubler. Cedric is a renowned world-class athlete having represented Australia in the decathlon at two Olympic Games to date, but it was his mateship rather than his athletic prowess that captured the attention of the nation in Tokyo - coining the phrase "doing a Dubler" as he assisted training partner Ash Moloney to the bronze medal. 

Matty and Cedric chat all things life both on and off the track, weaving in plenty of laughs and fun along the way. 

Be sure to leave a review and let us know who you would like to hear from next!