144 Going For Gold How Nina Kennedy Soared To Olympic Success

There's no manual for motherhood, and that's okay.

At Little Bellies, we believe in simple, wholesome goodness.

Our delicious, organic snacks are created for every age and stage.

Made with simple ingredients you can trust.

We do what's natural, so you can too.

As your little ones grow naturally and play through every major milestone.

Check out our full range of organic snacks at littlebellies.com.

Little Bellies. Do what's natural.

Ever wonder what your lashes are destined for?

The cards have spoken.

Maybelline New York Mascara does it all.

Whether you crave fully fanned lashes with lash sensational,

big, bold volume from the colossal,

a dramatic lift with falsies lash lift,

or natural-looking volume from great lash,

your perfect lash future awaits.

Manifest your best mascara today.

Shop Maybelline New York and discover your lash destiny.

Shop now at Walmart.

I'm Mike Boris, and this is Straight Talk.

Nina Kennedy.

Welcome to Straight Talk.

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Confidence versus competence.

You can't control how confident you're going to feel on the day.

But what you can control is how competent you are going to execute your skills.

And once you've done that a hundred times, a whole season, two whole seasons, three whole seasons,

that's when a little bit of confidence comes into it.

That's where you really can believe that you're going to win that gold medal.

Only in the last five years have I really gone in this journey of,

I don't want to be shit at this.

Why have I dedicated my whole life to not go anywhere?

I want to win the Olympic gold medal.

I want to, like, do something with my career.

And I kind of said to everyone, get the hell on my bus or get out,

because this is what I'm doing.

So you win a gold medal.

What do you do that night?

Do you really want to know?

Yeah, fuck yeah.

I'm dying to know.

Nina Kennedy.

Welcome to Straight Talk.

Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

It's so cool you're here.

No, I'm so happy to be here.

It's massive.

Well, congratulations.

How are you feeling?

How am I feeling?

I feel good.

I feel a little bit like I'm kind of stuck in this whirlwind still,

and I think it'll hit me maybe in, like, a few years that I've won the Olympic gold medal.

In a few years?

I think so.

Really?

Yeah.

I think what I found is sometimes you, like, do these really cool things

in your career, and it only really hits home a few years later.

In hindsight, you're like, oh, my God, I did that.

It's funny you should say.

I've sort of been, not in the Olympics, but there's something big happened to me once in my life,

and everyone thought it was, like, a big deal.

And I was in New York when the thing finished, and I just sat there on my own,

had a beer and a pizza, ordered a pizza from the hotel.

Yeah.

You're right.

It can be a bit of an anticlimax.

I think that's what everybody thinks.

I'm one of them.

I'm thinking to myself, oh, my God, like, she must have just gone mental with happiness and joy.

I mean, I saw you run around with a flag and everything after you did the jump.

And, you know, obviously you knew you had won.

So I guess there was that moment of elation.

But when you reflect on it, when do you reflect on it?

I mean, do you reflect on it, like, that night or after the after party,

or when do you start reflecting on these things?

And you're right.

You know, a little bit of elation.

It was honestly, like, the best week.

My whole life.

You mean during the competition or after?

That whole week of probably the day of my competition to, like, the week after.

All my friends, all my family were in Paris.

It will be, like, the best week of my whole life.

I think probably why it hasn't sunk in yet is that I haven't finished the season off.

So I'm going back to Europe next week.

Wow.

Doing four more competitions.

So I'm kind of still in that competition mode.

And then once I get home from that and actually just have a break, that's when I'll reflect.

That's when I'll go back and watch the competition and, you know, like, do some journaling

and just sit by myself and think about that.

And I think that's where some lessons will be learned and some real deep reflection will happen.

So what does that mean that's not the end of the season?

So the Olympics is sort of like something that's inserted into your season,

but the season runs in a penalty of the Olympics.

Is that right?

It is.

So what's the season?

What's that mean?

What's it look like?

Yeah.

So it's kind of like the Diamond League circuit is the elite circuit for athletics.

It's mostly in Europe, some in America, some in China, but predominantly in Europe.

And there's 12 competitions a year.

And then you have to compete in all of them to gain points, and they take six to the final.

And that is, as athletes, how we make our money.

Oh, you get paid for this?

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

That's cool.

Appearance fee and then prize money.

And, you know, if we only got paid just every four years at the Olympics, we wouldn't make any money.

So this is how we make a living, and this is what we do, really.

So it's called the Diamond League, is it?

Yeah.

Diamond League.

So to qualify to be in the Diamond League, or can anyone just apply to be in it?

Yeah.

The start list will be, you know, eight to ten girls, and they normally do the top eight ranked girls in the whole world.

Is this for every sport, and it's for men and women, or just for women?

Yep.

Every event on track and field, men and women.

So you go to the Diamond League, and you see there's 12 appearances.

Is that like one a month?

So 12 competitions.

So there'll be six women's pole vault comps and six men's.

And then at the very end of the season, if you've qualified, you'll make the final.

Right.

So is it decent money?

You know, decent money in athletics for what it is.

It's the highest paying competition in athletics.

And do you have to wear, like, gear to sort of promote something?

Yeah.

So, you know, just like tennis, you have, like, a shoe sponsor, right?

So very similar in athletics.

You have a jacket sponsor there?

Yeah.

Is that Puma?

It's cold in Sydney, man.

Yeah, it's freezing cold.

It's about 85 degrees Fahrenheit in this room, and she's got a puffy jacket.

No, I'm just joking.

Actually, it's cold.

So Puma's one of your sponsors?

Yeah, that's my main sponsor.

And do they do, like, as in shoes?

Yeah.

Is that, because I've often wondered how you make money.

I mean, how do you support yourself?

Clearly, you've got family and friends and all that sort of stuff.

Mm-hmm.

And you're a young woman.

Like, how do you do this and prepare for so long?

And everything's on the line, and now you've answered the question.

It is through the Diamond League, but it's also through sponsors as well.

Is sponsors just gear or money as well?

No, no, it's money.

And just to maybe put it into perspective, it's, you know,

I've been on the world stage competing for, you know, since 2015,

and I basically stopped part-time work in,

like, 2021 was where I could comfortably be a full-time athlete

and live off that salary.

Okay, so you can do that comfortably.

Yeah.

That's cool.

And do you have to, like, go do speeches and turn up for dinners and, you know,

like, you know, like, you know, they say, listen, yeah, yeah,

we've got an event on, Nina, we'd like you to come.

Can you just sort of sit around with some of our, you know,

our customers or our clients or whatever?

Yes and no.

So, you know, you pick and choose, and I think I'm still in the mindset,

I'm in the mindset of athletics is what I want to do,

and I haven't reached the top yet,

and I still feel like I have a lot more to give.

Olympics is pretty good, winning a gold medal.

That's close to the top.

Yeah, yeah, it's pretty good, but, you know,

you look at others in the sport that are kind of coming out, you know,

like the Ariane Tipnesses and, you know, the Emma McKeons,

they do a lot of that stuff now.

So I still feel like I have a little bit more to give in sport.

Yeah, because you could end up down the Melbourne Cup or something like that

and being one of the marquees.

Well, that happens.

Yeah, it does.

Because you're famous.

You are famous.

So are you.

Yeah, but you're much more famous.

Right now you are famous, right?

You're the dude.

Like you have got a gold medal.

And I have to tell you, my favourite event, I mean,

everyone loves the swimming, blah, blah, blah.

I get all that and everyone wants to watch the 100 metres,

women and men, so I love both those and the 400s.

But pole vaulting is one of my favourite events,

mainly because to me it looks like the hardest event

or the most difficult event.

And I don't mean some.

I don't mean just athletically, but I mean like running down

with that bloody pole and pushing that pole over that thing

wherever you put it into and then somehow getting over the top

of the bar, like it's crazy, man.

Like it's like – so I've got to ask you,

what the hell got you thinking as a young person at some stage

in life and take me back there that I'm going to become a pole vaulter?

It's probably the question I get asked the most,

but it is a good question.

So, you know, Steve Hooker won the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Fantastic, wasn't it?

Yeah, it was fantastic.

And, you know, it was the same time zone of Australia,

so everybody tuned in.

And he's from Perth, I'm from Perth.

It was a huge deal in the media.

So that was 2008 and I accidentally started the sport in 2009,

kind of off that.

So I was at a little athletics club, loved my little aths,

and his coach at the time kind of went out scouting kids

and, you know, maybe 30 rocked up to this.

Come try day.

Come try pole vault.

And I went along and from those 30 kids, there were about three left

and I was one of them.

And, you know, a few years later, you're at the state championships

and you're at the national championships and you're going kind of well

and you're like, oh, maybe this is my calling.

You know, I always wanted to go to the Olympics for something.

I was always really sporty.

So, you know, a few years go past and all of a sudden you're wearing

the Australian uniform and you're like, okay, maybe this is my path.

Yeah.

So you're a young little athletics competitor.

Yeah.

Not a lot of people know what that is.

Explain what little athletics is.

It's across Australia.

Yeah.

It's a great movement, especially for parents and their kids

and to get kids exposed to this sort of stuff.

Then there's lots of little athletics fields, like allocated as fields,

but you were from Busselton.

Am I right?

Yeah, I'm from Busselton, yeah.

Did you have a little athletics club out there?

So I started a little bit later.

I'd moved to Perth when I was, you know, eight

and I started when I was maybe 11 or 12.

So, but yeah, there's a Margaret River Little Athletics Club

and there's lots of clubs around Perth and around Australia.

I don't know how many clubs there are, but it's pretty big.

Yeah, no, it's big because my four sons and they all did something

with little athletics at one stage or other.

Yeah.

None of them were athletic enough to do anything.

But in terms of being an athlete on the field,

but I just thought what was pretty important is a shout out

for the little athletics, how important it is

in developing young people in Australia.

I mean, the whole support that they give everybody, for example,

and also you had Hooker's coach roaming around those environments.

So what's interesting is you've got athletic coaches and spotters probably

out there looking for people, girls and boys, that they can say,

well, that kid there, that kid there's got something going.

Were you pole vaulting?

At the time, were you running, were you doing 100 metres or 1500s

or something like that or long jumps or everything?

Yeah, so at little athletics, it's basically everything

but the pole vault and the hammer throw.

So doing a hammer throw at eight years of age?

No, no, no, everything but that.

But that, right, right.

But that.

So, you know, I was really good at sprinting.

I was really good at hurdling, long jump and, yeah,

you need a lot of different attributes for pole vault.

So, yeah, you just go to a go and try day and, you know,

you're going, find out if you're good at it or not.

So when a little kid does pole vault, do they have like a small pole

and a shorter run and obviously a little, a lower bar, is that right?

Yeah, you're all over it, yeah.

It's just, it's just miniature.

Miniature pole vault.

That's cool.

So when this coach dude found you, did he become your coach as well?

For a little bit, but not anymore, yeah.

Okay, so when this individual found you,

what attributes do you think they're looking for?

What are the attributes of someone who can become a pole vaulter?

Yeah, okay, you need, first of all, you need a bit of mongrel.

What is that?

What do you mean by that?

Because you've got to, you mean courage as in you've got to be pretty tough?

You've just got to be a tough little tacker, you know,

and you've got to be fast, you've got to be really coordinated.

Fast what?

What do you mean?

Fast runner.

As in fast, yeah, you've got to be able to sprint.

Yeah, you've got to be able to sprint, run as fast as you can,

really coordinated.

You need to know where you are in the air.

You need to know how to apply force correctly and receive energy

and all those kind of things,

and you've just got to be a bit of an all-rounder really.

So can we, do you mind if I break this down a little bit with you?

Of course.

Obviously you know a lot more than you're modestly explaining

in terms of let's call it the physics of pole vaulting.

So just to peel back a bit,

one of the things I noticed in some discussions that I've listened to

in relation to pole vaulters is the word speed.

And I never really thought about that.

I've never pole vaulted, but I never really thought about that.

So explain to me how speed is,

why is speed such an important component of,

is it about speed and momentum getting over or is it speed?

What's important to speed?

Yeah, no, you basically hit the nail on the head.

So basically you're in the pole vault.

If you jump the high,

so let's break it down.

So you need to run as fast as you can to create enough momentum

to put into the pole to then let that pole generate you as high as you can.

So the faster you are, more energy in the pole,

higher it's going to fling you is the basic physics of it.

So is, but is there, is that relative to weight or mass?

Mass, which is your mass.

Yeah.

Because I guess what you're trying to produce here is force.

And force is the, is speed by mass, basically.

That's the physics definition of it.

Am I sort of on the money here?

Yeah, you're on the money.

Yeah, so, and then because it wouldn't,

and so have, is your speed relative to your mass disproportionate?

In other words, is it better to have more speed and be lighter

or is it better to have,

speed that, a speed at a certain level that matches the mass that you have?

So I don't know how much you weigh,

but I'm probably guessing like 50 kilos or 54 kilos, something like that.

Yeah, 60 kilos.

Yeah, there we go.

So is, so if you're there alongside another female who's say 60 kilos

and you can run faster than her.

Yeah.

So.

Theoretically you should be able to get up higher.

Of course.

Assuming both got the same skill level, same technique.

So my power to weight ratio will be higher than hers,

which means I'm putting,

I'm putting more force into that pole, which is going to fling me higher.

But something really cool about pole vault is that you can jump the same bar

a hundred different ways.

Skill wise, like in terms of technique you're talking about?

Yeah, you could be really short and you could be a really fast runner.

You're going to have a smaller pole,

but you're going to have so much energy in that jump.

Or you could be a really tall, tall jumper.

You could be quite slow on the runway,

but you could use a really tall pole

and a tall grip and it's more of a flowing jump.

So I think that's what's really cool about pole vault.

So like, because that takes me back to Steve Hawking.

He is quite tall.

He looks quite tall and lanky to me.

So would someone,

because he never looked like he was running at a great deal of speed to me.

He looked like he was sort of more.

Jogging in.

Yeah.

Rhythm.

Yeah.

Like he had a good rhythm to him.

And, but he obviously got very high.

So in your, what is your technique then?

So what's your deal?

Yeah.

So I'm chucking the,

after burners on halfway down the runway and I'm a little pocket rocket

and I'm very fast and I'm just getting all that energy from the pole

and it's literally flinging me up.

So, and so who determines the size of the length of the pole?

Is that, is that your coach or something?

Is that something like a physics formula about that?

Yeah, of course.

You know, I'm, I'm quite short, so I'm going to use a smaller pole

and my grip from the, the ground,

from the box where I put the pole to where I'm gripping kind of has to be

relative to how tall I am, right?

So if you're a lot taller, you're going to be gripping a lot higher.

And if you're gripping higher, you're closer to the bar, right?

So you, you really got to work out what your strengths are

and how you're going to use all these different factors into the perfect jump.

So let's just talk about prep or training.

And because I'm sort of spending a lot of time on like different theories

around strength training.

So just the first thing I get in my head is,

as you say, you're a pocket rocker, you're, you've got to have the,

sort of the glute strength and the,

and the leg drive to get you down to the box.

That's pretty important.

So we'll come back to that one, park that one for a second.

But then you've got to carry this pole.

I mean, like it looks, it looks pretty, I don't know.

How much are we talking about?

What's the weight?

Two kilos.

Is that all?

It's not something you think about.

I think it's more.

It's only two kilos?

Two to three.

It is so.

Oh, it's, it's four and a half meters.

So it's more about carrying this really awkward thing on the side of your body

and running as fast as you can.

And imagine trying to sprint as fast as you can without using your arms.

Yeah, totally.

It's weird.

Yeah.

It's really weird.

So what sort of training do you have to do in that regard?

I mean, so like when you go to train for this, not,

and you're not practicing, but you're training,

are you just running, doing 400s?

Are you doing 800s or are you doing sprints?

What do you do?

Yeah.

So my run up length,

women normally,

they jump 14 steps to 18 steps,

roughly 30 meters.

And men are anywhere from 16 to 20 steps.

So it's not a very long way.

So, you know, I'm just doing sprints.

I'm just doing power in the gym.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nothing more than, you know, 60 meter tempo.

But yeah, we get down to 40 meters, 30 meters, flying 20s.

We're putting our spikes on and we're going, we're going hard.

Yeah.

So, so, and then as an adjunct to that,

then I guess you, do you have to do weight work as well?

It's one of our main, yeah.

Like you're doing all the, all the glute stuff, you know.

Is that where your power is?

Yeah.

Or is it in your abs?

It's both.

Both.

It's, I like to think of it as like the whole chain

and how it all works in unison.

Yeah.

So because if you don't, you can,

I guess we can talk about this a bit later,

but I guess you can get seriously badly injured.

Yeah.

If you're, if you're not strong and for all your muscle,

the muscular system is not actually there to support your skeletal,

skeletal system, like your, your, your bones basically.

So that is, and is that when you sit down with your coach,

your current coach, what's your team look like?

Because I mean, do they have like biomechanics scientists there

and talking about all that sort of stuff?

And do you go to the AIS?

Is that where it all works out?

Yeah, basically.

So I'm at the WA Institute of Sport.

So, you know, I have a few main coaches

and then I'd have a strength coach

and then I'd have a biomechanist and a nutritionalist.

And a sports psychologist and, you know, a sports doctor.

And, you know, they're all working in unison.

You know, they're having weekly team meetings and it's a, it's good.

So, so, so let's, let's take the biomechanics scientist,

the person I presume what they do,

they video you and they watch your gait and, you know,

what your style is like.

They've then probably watched, you know,

what your skill looks like in terms of actually, you know,

putting it into the pole into the, to the box

and then actually, you know,

sort of trying to get over there.

I'm just thinking about the run up at the moment.

The video and this sort of stuff,

they actually come back to you and say, listen,

you know, we think we can increase your speed and power

if you perhaps run a little bit lower to the ground

or do they have those sorts of conversations with you?

Yeah, of course.

You know, some athletes buy into it more than others.

Naturally, I'm quite lucky.

I'm a really, I'm a really good runner.

My training partner, however, he's not as good.

So he's done a lot of work on,

yep, on gait, on foot, on foot contact,

on time spent on the ground and on all those things.

And the interesting thing about pole vault is that

sometimes it's not about running as fast as you can.

It's actually about building a rhythm

and then halfway down, you just let that momentum

like take over you.

So like I said, there's a hundred different ways to do it

and it's about finding out what your way is

and building on top of that.

And if I could just then move on,

move on to the skill part, I mean, it's all skill,

but the first part seems to be more about athleticism,

you know, being able to run with holding the pole

and getting to speed and, you know, all those things.

But then once you put that pole in the box,

then the skill sort of comes in, it comes into play.

First and foremost, I always think to myself,

what's that pole made of?

Because it looks like it could snap.

What is it made of?

Fiberglass.

It is fiberglass, is it?

So it could snap.

Yep.

Is that a thing?

Yeah, of course.

Of course it's a thing.

Have you snapped them?

I haven't touched wood, but a lot of people do snap them.

You know, we also travel with them.

So sometimes you get them off the plane and they're broken.

Oh, really?

The first time you jump on them, they'll break.

So you have your own like set of, you have quite a few of them?

Yeah, I have like 12 I would take to the Olympic Games.

12?

Yeah.

But are they all for different conditions or something

or they're all exactly the same?

They're the same length.

They're all different stiffnesses.

Really?

Yeah, of course.

So the thickness of the fiberglass then relates to the stiffnesses

or do they put something into the fiberglass to get stiffened up a bit?

I should know this.

We're getting too technical for me.

No, but it's driving me mad.

I love technical stuff.

You know, how I like to think about it is that if we put two boxes

and we balance the pole between them and we put the same weight

on every single pole, the softer ones would bend more,

the stiffer ones wouldn't bend as much.

Right, okay.

So the stiffer the pole, the higher I'm going to do it.

So how do you work out which one you want?

Well, depending on the height of the bar.

So, you know, started the Olympic Games,

I'm going to enter the competition at 440.

I'm going to finish the competition at 490.

So I'm going to take, you know, a relatively smaller pole

for the earlier heights and I'm going to build my way in

and, you know, get the biggest pole out of my bag

for those highest jumps at the end.

So the biggest pole, is that also the stiffest pole?

Yes, sorry, the stiffest pole.

Stiffest pole.

So you're...

So you're...

You've got 12 poles there, so you're just basically

calibrating which pole you're going to use

depending on which height you need to jump.

Exactly.

Why don't you just...

Pardon my ignorance, but why don't you just use

the stiffest pole to jump the lowest one?

Because, I mean, you can easily clear it, I would have thought.

Yeah.

Is there a reason why you don't?

It's a great question and I get asked that all the time

and I think the best example I can use is kind of like,

you know, you lift weights, you're in the gym.

Me personally, I'm lifting my heaviest.

It's probably my last set.

That's when you're really maxing out.

Yeah.

Do you...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Does that make sense?

Yeah.

Because there's still more in you, you know?

Yeah, so where...

Do someone like you...

I just can't understand how you get up there,

but like there's no point explaining it to me

because I'll never get it unless I try it

and there's not much likelihood of that happening

at this point in my life.

But when you put that into the shoe or into the box,

the pole into the box and you're...

You feel yourself travelling forward,

what are the thoughts that are going through your mind

or is it just all automatic?

I mean, like I've got to make sure I get my...

Don't bloody touch the bar on the way down

and I'm clearing it properly.

Like what is going through your head?

Because there's a fair few seconds.

It's not like it's happening in a flash.

Yeah, it's a bit of both, you know.

When you're running in so fast and you're jumping in the air,

you have a millisecond to hit those positions correctly.

Otherwise, you're not going to clear the bar.

So you're just executing your cues as well as you can

and you're right, the jump doesn't happen that quickly

and there are moments in the jump where you can feel your body

and feel where you are and feel where the bar is

and you're like, okay, get back a little bit more

or pull a little bit more or suck in your tummy a little bit more,

get over the bar.

So you do have those moments to think about it.

So have you ever cleared it really easily

but some dumb things happen and you've actually touched

with your little finger or, you know, your ponytail's flipping,

I mean, have you ever done something really weird like that?

Yeah.

Just because that bar, does it take much to move it?

Oh, you know, the bar is sitting on like a 10-centimetre metal peg.

So if you touch it, it's probably going to fall

and the bar is flat and then it's rounded at the top.

So if you even touch it a little bit, it's going to hit the round

and it's going to fall off.

And slide off.

So you really can't touch it.

The only weirdest thing I've done is sometimes if I wear my hair

in a ponytail and I'll be planting my pole in the box sometimes,

I'll grab my ponytail with my hand.

It's kind of confusing to say but I've never really had any really bad falls

or stacks.

My training partner, you know, boys jump about six metres up in the air.

He's missed the mat before and landed both heels, shattered both of them.

Leg on the ground.

Yeah.

So it's a pretty dangerous sport but luckily nothing too bad

has ever happened to me.

Can we talk about injuries?

Yeah.

Do you get most of your injuries in the prep

or do you get most of your injuries at the comp?

Oh, it's in the prep.

You know, that's where you're pushing your body the hardest, the furthest.

You know, that's where all the work's done, right?

Yeah.

Competing's the fun part.

But do you – you've already mentioned that you have like this year

you've been doing the league.

So like it's not – because I didn't realise that.

So I just assumed that you might have a prep.

So it's a period of say 12 weeks before the Olympics,

before the Olympic day or the day of your event.

But it's not.

You're basically at call pretty much peaked all the time during the year

in order to compete.

Is that how you work?

So the Olympics were let's just say the start of August.

I was competing from the start of June.

So June, July, I'm getting my last competitions in.

I'm figuring out all those technical things.

I'm seeing those girls that are going to be in the Olympic final

at those Diamond League competitions.

So I know –

The same ones.

Yeah, the same ones.

So I know what form every girl is in.

And, you know, I beat all of them in all my lead-up competitions.

So it was really mine to lose.

So I start competing in June and, you know,

my prep is probably from November until, yeah, May.

So I'm just training, getting fit, working it all out,

competing and then going into the Olympics.

And what does that mean though?

Does that mean no booze, you know, no nights out?

I mean what's it look like really?

Yeah.

How committed do you have to be?

You have to figure out what works for you.

Yeah.

Some balance.

Yeah, and a lot of athletes don't do that

and a lot of athletes think they have to be all in or nothing.

And then you see the other athletes that are too relaxed

and I think what I found with me is,

I had to really work that out.

What do I need to thrive as a human

so I'm going to be the best athlete I can be?

So, yeah, you know, I probably drunk like once or twice this year.

But, you know, when you have a goal so big,

it doesn't really feel like a sacrifice.

It's more like this is what I'm doing

and these are the things that are going to get me there.

Yeah, but I guess when you've got friends,

do you do all this in Perth?

This is all Perth.

Perth's a pretty social place.

Yeah.

Especially for your age group, your cohort.

Because I lived there for a few years

and I just know it's very, very social compared to,

everyone sort of, not everyone knows everyone,

that's sort of underselling it a bit.

But it's a broad friendship can exist in Perth amongst people

because they tend to sort of go to the same places

and a lot of them went to school there, you know, et cetera.

And especially if you're in the athletic environment

and you'd be very well known in Perth,

especially now you'd be very well known.

You wouldn't have been very well known.

You wouldn't have been very well known before though.

How do you, do you, are you a person who then would obsess

about not getting involved in the social life there

and obsess about my training regime?

Or are you someone who just yields to your training

and your coach, for example,

and just let someone else take control of that,

just yield to it and just say, okay,

tell me when I'm going to be there,

what time I'm going to be training,

you know, how many hours I'm going to do.

How do you approach it?

Yeah, the thing I love about being an individual athlete

is that 100% of the accountability falls on you.

So kind of giving that power over to a coach and, you know,

you trust them.

But how I like to look at it is at the end of the day,

if I fail at the Olympics, coach, you still get paid, I don't.

Who pays the coach?

So the Institute of Sport.

Right, okay.

You know, so.

You still get paid, I won't.

So I need to take 100% of the accountability onto myself, right?

So I'm figuring out, and I've done this for years,

I'm figuring out how to get the best version of myself

and the best athlete I can be out onto the Olympic Games.

So, yeah, I've kind of figured it out and that means just, for example,

you know, like you said about the Perth social scene,

it's like, okay, coach, I know I need the weekend off over Easter.

I need to spend it with my friends and family because that's wholesome

and that's going to fill my cup up and I'm going to come back to training

the next week feeling fresh, fun, refreshed,

and I'm going to give my best at training.

Yeah, you sound fairly balanced, but some people are like fully obsessed

with what they do and they never really think I'm going to come back

refreshed and fun.

Some people sort of are so obsessed about the outcome, the final result,

that they can't.

They can't allow themselves these few moments, you know,

like let's call it frivolous moments where they're just hanging out

with their family and their friends, even if it's just for a couple of days.

It doesn't mean you have to drink it all, but some people just can't do that.

How is it that you're able to think that way, which is actually quite balanced?

Yeah, I think I've learned the hard way that it feels weird giving this control up

and going for a weekend away.

It feels really strange because I want to control.

I want to control everything, but I know that that is the best thing for me.

So just...

So a bit of conflict.

Yeah, just give in, enjoy the weekend, and like this is good for you, Nina.

Like it's not going to kill you and you really just have to hear all the voices

for what they are and hear all those voices and just know what's best for you

and learn from that really, really well.

Where do you get that from?

Your parents or friends or other family members?

Who's the person that's sort of taught you?

Or you just learn through hard knocks?

Well, I think coming back to that thing of 100% accountability, you know,

I missed the 2016 Olympic Games when I was meant to qualify.

My whole family and my whole extended family went to the Olympics thinking

I was going to qualify, and I didn't.

And, you know, I was 18, 19 at that time, and you just learn these really hard

lessons in sport the hard way.

And who does that fall on?

It doesn't fall on my coach, it doesn't fall on my family, it falls on me.

Like get back up, learn because you're the one that needs to make money, right?

So you just learn those lessons.

Not too long ago, running a business looked a lot different.

A good location and a solid reputation were enough to keep a customer base happy.

No websites, no social media, no SEO, just old school networking

and persistence, of course.

But times have changed.

In today's digital world, your business needs more than just a great product.

It needs visibility.

That's where Squarespace comes in.

Whether you're just getting started or expanding your brand,

it's the all-in-one platform that makes building and managing your online presence simple.

With Blueprint AI, creating a professional, customized website takes just a few clicks.

Plus, powerful tools like automated client invoicing,

online courses, and memberships help you generate revenue effortlessly.

So you can focus on growing your business instead of juggling logistics.

Head to squarespace.com forward slash mentored for a free trial.

And when you're ready to launch, use offer code mentored, M-E-N-T-O-R-E-D,

to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or a domain.

BetterHelp Online Therapy bought this 30-second ad to remind you right now,

wherever you are, to unclench your jaw, relax your shoulders,

take a deep breath in and out.

Feels better, right?

That's 15 seconds of self-care.

Imagine what you could do with more.

Visit betterhelp.com slash random podcast for 10% off your first month of therapy.

No pressure, just help.

But for now, just relax.

I think what you're sort of saying to me then,

or the way I'm interpreting it,

is that you're looking at this as a business.

This is your business.

Yeah.

Your business is you're being an athlete, specifically a pole vaulter,

but you're an athlete.

Your business is winning medals and to some extent being a bit of an entertainer.

There is an element of entertainment in there.

And that's fine.

But at the same time, you can't be an entertainer when you've got to do both.

What is there for?

I'd love to know what your mind is.

What your mindset is.

And because I just imagine pole vaulting looks like something you've got to be in control of.

What I mean is in the event, at the act of pole vaulting, it is full of our control.

You've got to run a certain speed.

You've got to get the thing into the box.

And then you've got to get over it.

You've got to do everything exactly right.

So you must have your brain, your mindset must be full control.

Yet you've got to yield your control for these little weekends and things.

That you've got to do.

How do you, how do you change?

I mean, I understand that, you know, in 2016, you didn't have a good run and you had to change, you know, the way you thought about things.

Or you had to become fully accountable.

But how do you change your mindset from being someone who's fully in control to being somebody who's loosened, going to loosen up her control?

Hmm.

I think coming back to what you said about, you know, it is a business and I like to think that I am the CEO of my business, you know.

You are.

I'm accountable.

So I really had to figure out how to get the best out of myself.

And that meant I really had to get to know myself.

Who am I?

Why the hell am I doing this crazy sport?

And what do I want to get out of it?

So it almost forced me in a weird way to go on this like self-discovery journey of me as a human and me as an athlete.

And why am I here?

Why am I doing this crazy thing?

What do I want to do?

And I answered those questions and it took a lot of years and it just took a lot of getting to know myself.

Like we're not taught how to do that in school.

No.

And it just meant spending a lot of time with myself, reading a lot of books, doing a lot of listening to podcasts, doing a lot of journaling and just getting outside of my comfort zone and knowing that if I wanted to win the Olympics or if I wanted to master this thing, I would be able to do it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I was going to have to get uncomfortable and ask myself tough questions.

That's very interesting because, you know, I know business people who are always trying to work out how they get their mindset right or get the business mindset right, the mindset of the business.

And it is about mastering yourself and the business thinking, the way the business thinks.

And that's sort of what you have had to do for yourself.

Yeah.

And then, of course, every business always has.

And, you know, nothing works perfectly.

It doesn't really matter how well you prepare.

Shit happens.

And, you know, the economy could turn around.

In your business, injuries happen, just you don't perform as well.

And then you have to take a step back and sort of reset a bit.

So how do you reset?

I mean, what did you do after 2016?

Well, let's just, you know, let's just take what you said about like, okay, you didn't perform as well.

Or you got injured.

You got injuries.

And it's like, okay, let's, you know, A, have a victim mentality and blame the world and, oh, I got unlucky.

Or it's like, okay, why did that happen?

Turn the lights off and not come outside of your bedroom.

Yeah.

Like, why did that injury happen?

Why didn't I perform as well?

What needs to change?

Let's have tough conversations with my physio.

Like, let's get to the freaking core of this.

Totally.

Let's work it out and let's make sure that never happens again.

So.

So you would challenge the physio, for example?

Yeah, of course.

Or it would just be, you know, back to this accountability.

Okay, like, it's no one's fault.

Let's just learn from this.

Like, let's be vulnerable.

Let's admit when we make mistakes and let's learn as this and let's grow together as a team.

Yeah.

So, and that's interesting again because if I go back to the business analogy, you know, success is always built upon the shoulders of others, not just one person.

You've got to have a team.

In terms of you get allocated a team, I guess.

People sort of say, well, here's your coach and here's your psychologist and here's your, you know, strength and fitness person, et cetera.

But at the same time, that's allocation, that's fine, which means you don't have to hunt these people down.

But there is a part that does require you and that is for you to work within your team, for your team and with your team and have them working for you as well in a way that suits your style.

And I don't mean as your style in terms of your personality, but your physical style.

So, like, you've got to know, well, I'm not tall, but I'm powerful and fast.

Therefore, I need you to recognize that Mr. Physio or Mr. Strength Trainer.

Is that how you operate?

Do you go through those conversations?

Yeah, of course.

And you're right.

Like, majority of the time we are, you know, in this institute and we're in this program and here's your coach, here's your physio.

And sometimes you do get to outsource.

You do get to.

You know, like I said, read books, listen to podcasts, you know, do your own learning and challenge people and have those conversations.

But do you bring it back to them and say, listen.

Of course.

I've heard this.

Can we try this?

Of course.

And, you know, I'm 27 now and I've been doing this for 15 years and only in the maybe the last five years have I really gone in this journey of, sorry to swear, but I don't want to be shit at this.

Why have I dedicated my whole life to not go anywhere?

I want to win the Olympic gold.

I want to like do something with my career.

And I kind of said to everyone, get the hell on my bus or get out because this is what I'm doing.

So you call a team meeting?

Yeah, of course.

Good on you.

Yeah.

Serious.

And, you know, I'm a 20, you know, I was what, 20, maybe 23 at the time.

And going back to that strange power dynamic of coach versus athlete and they're employed and they're getting paid, but I'm not.

And, you know, I need to find personal sponsors and I need to drive myself.

I have my own ship and, guys, this is what I want to do.

Let's do this together.

And your team is mostly male or female or combat?

It's mostly male.

There are a few females.

So how do they take that?

Like here's a young woman, like in her 20s.

Yeah.

Telling them they've probably been doing this forever because they're in the Institute of Sports.

So obviously they're experienced and been around a while.

Yeah.

You're now saying this is what I want to do.

This is the program.

Yeah.

Let's do it.

But you don't feel intimidated at any stage?

No.

No.

No.

I've never actually asked that question, but I think they were excited.

You know, they know the type of athlete I am.

They can see the talent.

They can see the clear work ethic.

And, you know, I think if I ask them in a few months' time once all the dust has settled,

I think they'll say, you know, we wanted to be on this journey with her.

And, God, it wasn't easy.

There were some really, really tough conversations.

And a lot of the time it would, God, let's get so vulnerable.

And let's cry.

And this is so awkward.

But this is making us better, right?

Like, really?

You would sit around and, like, literally be like that?

Like, be vulnerable?

You know, I'd have a really bad training session.

And I would be yelling.

And I would be throwing my pole.

And I'd be crying.

And it's a really awkward situation.

And they would say something wrong.

And I would say, you know, F you, blah, blah, blah.

And, you know, we'd all have to cool down and come back and regroup and say, oh, look,

I'm really sorry I said that.

I didn't mean that in the heat of the moment.

And you learn from that.

And you be better at the next session.

And, okay, I'm never going to make that mistake again.

I felt really bad when I said that.

And now they know not to say that when I do this.

And you just learn.

And we've been on this journey for, you know, a good four years now where we just know each

other so well, right?

Yeah.

So to some extent then you're, you know, I can see you doing a speech in the future on

leadership.

But that's sort of like someone has to take control.

And everyone would assume.

That the coach is a leader.

But really the leader of the team should be the athlete.

I agree.

Because you're the one with everything at stake.

Yes.

Because you're the one putting the most things at risk.

You can, and what you're risking is time for nothing.

Yep.

Exactly.

And that's the greatest asset we have is time.

Time for nothing is like the biggest waste if we get nothing for the time we spend.

It doesn't mean you always have to be successful.

But you have to get the best possible outcome.

And that's the biggest thing.

And that's the biggest thing.

And that's the biggest thing.

And that's the biggest thing.

And that's the biggest thing.

And that's the biggest thing.

You know, putting injuries and other things aside.

It's amazing that at a young age you work that stuff out though.

Yeah.

And I think it is quite amazing.

And I think I just came back to that thing of like, why am I doing this?

Like, you know, I saw all my friends go in this different trajectory.

You know, they finished uni and now they're working full-time jobs.

And they're traveling and they're living their lives.

And I'm doing this.

Random sport, trying to get paid.

And it was like, I'm going to make something of this or I'm going to stop.

So, like, let's give it a red hot crack, right?

So, did you say, look, if I don't – let's take world championships or some other event as opposed to –

did you say, if I don't medal at the world, then that's it?

Do you put like dead stops on things?

I remember I had this conversation with my boyfriend at the time.

And it felt really strange because he was working full-time.

Playing footy on the weekends, working really hard, making money.

And I was just pole vaulting with no shoe contract.

I get a bit of AIS government funding.

But I go to training and I come home and I'd sleep and I'd recover.

And I felt so lazy just watching him do that.

And I remember we had this conversation and he's like, you know, I can see that you really love this.

And I can see you really want to make it.

And I was like, I just feel so bad because I'm not contributing to anything.

Right.

And I said, okay, why don't you just stop working and give it a red hot crack?

You know, put all your eggs in this basket.

Who cares about money?

Let's just, you know, go to two to three years.

And if you haven't made it by then, then you can say you've tried.

And, yeah, I did that.

I rolled the dice.

I wanted to see what would happen.

And, yeah, I got my full-time shoe contract.

Really good.

I was paying.

I could, you know, be a full-time athlete.

And that's where I started to medal at world championships and win diamond leagues.

And that was kind of the start of my professional career.

How do you go about getting sort of sponsorship from people like Puma, for example?

Yeah.

How does that work?

I mean, do you have to go out and apply or do they tap you on the shoulder?

It's an interesting space to navigate.

Essentially, you have an agent and you have a manager.

And, yeah.

Yep.

You know, you just get a shoe contract.

You know, athletics is really big in the States and it's really big in Europe.

And, you know, it's minuscule here.

So all my competitions are over there.

All my money comes from there.

So, yeah.

Because, you know, we did get confronted, and I even put up a post about this,

about some of the other countries, the amount of money they pay their gold medalists

for winning a medal relative to what happens here in Australia.

Do you think that Australia...

I don't want to get political, but do you think that we should be paying our athletes more money?

I think we should.

And what does that do for Australia, for example?

Why do you think that?

I think Australians love sport.

And, you know, the Olympic fever, everyone loved it.

Totally.

And if people only knew that we're making all our money from personal sponsors

and endorsements from, you know, Australian brands and all that,

and it's like, yes, we get government, you know, AIS funding,

but it's minuscule.

It is really, really minuscule in terms of what we do.

Do you think that everybody should get funded or that you should do, for example,

what China does, if you win a gold medal as opposed to any other medal,

you get paid a lot of money.

Do you think it should be just for the gold medalists or for everyone?

No, I think it should be everyone.

And I don't think it should be a reward.

I think it should be an investment.

You know, let's go back to that time when I was talking about where two years

I wasn't getting paid, and that's probably where I needed the money

to go and do the things I needed to do.

You know, ice baths, good quality food, good psychologists,

go seeking out all those things.

And I remember I had to invest a lot of money to get the output.

And I would be like, okay, I don't have the money,

but it's an investment in my future.

And it eventually paid off.

So if I could just sort of switch tack a little bit.

Yeah.

So you win a gold medal.

Yeah.

That day they wore the medal.

You know, they sing the national anthem, all that sort of stuff,

and the crowd sees you.

And what do you do that night?

Do you really want to know?

Yeah.

Fuck yeah, I'm dying to know.

You go mad or what?

Like I would have gone mental.

I would have been drinking schooners or whatever was available.

Like I seriously would.

Like especially at your age, I would have gone nuts.

So what happens?

You go back to the village and everyone, yay, let's go out.

You pick the other athletes who have already finished.

Say, come out.

No.

Well, you know, as soon as I finished my event,

once you go through doping control and once you do all the Australian media,

it was 3 o'clock.

In the?

3 o'clock in the morning.

Oh, wow.

So I honestly.

Just keep going.

Literally, I rocked up to the club.

So there's a club in the village or something?

So like we just went out, out.

I rocked up in the shorts that I had competed in.

I threw on an oversized T-shirt and I was wearing the sneakers that I, you know.

Good for the sponsor.

Jumped in and I was in the club in my bloody runners.

In my booty shorts.

So is it like a club in the village or a club outside of?

Club outside the village.

It's in Paris somewhere.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, and you just rip, go out and dance.

Well, it was just like.

Or you're so stuffed.

No, I'm going out dancing.

I'm like, I'm going for it.

Yeah.

Like, I just won an Olympic gold medal, dude.

Yeah, yeah, totally.

You walk around with a medal on you.

Did you have your medal on?

No, I didn't.

I didn't.

And was it mostly athletes there?

It was athlete-centered, but, you know, they were random.

And people in the mosh pit would be like, oh, my God,

are we jumping tonight?

And I'd be like, yeah.

And they'd be like, oh, my God, we watched you.

And a lot of Aussies or just people from everywhere?

Everywhere.

Because you would know all the other competitors, too,

from other countries as well.

Yeah, of course.

Yeah, and everyone's sort of congratulating you.

And by the end, how long did you stay?

Like, when did you wander back to the village or whatever?

I got back to the village at like, yeah, 6.30, 7 a.m.

Oh, it's not that hectic.

No, no, not that hectic.

We had media all the next day and, you know, for a sport,

like athletics, you've really got to capitalize

on the once every four years in the spotlight you get, so.

Yeah, just bring it on.

I'm here.

And then the other athletes that you talk to and or, like, for example,

the swimmers, if you talk to swimmers, do you go around and sort of say,

look, I just want to say congratulations to anybody?

Do you specifically go seeking other people out from the Australian team

that you just want to say well done?

Of course.

You know, the swimmers were in the village in the first week

and the athletics kind of.

Trickles in in the second week and I remember getting to the village

and I was just, like, starstruck by, like, Ariane Titness

and Emma McKeon and Molly and I was like, oh, my God, like,

these girls are amazing and, you know, you eventually, like,

pack up the courage and say hi and, you know, I'm a huge fan

and it's always reciprocated and everyone thinks we're really close

but, you know, we only see each other every four years.

Oh, really?

Yeah, well, you know, swimming, athletics.

Well, then I do.

Similar things to what you do, like, all your events during the year.

Do they sort of make you all going around the world at the same time,

like, doing not really?

Yes and no, you know.

Athletics are probably different.

Athletics is very different.

To swimming, for argument's sake.

Yeah.

And how do you feel about, I mean, I was looking through a thing,

the number of mostly it was females winning gold medals for us.

We had some great males, guys, some good stuff, but mostly females.

Why do you think that Australian women are so successful given our size?

We're not a big country.

I don't know.

I don't have the answer.

I'm sorry.

But it was so nice to see the girls just dominate, right?

Totally dominate.

Totally dominate.

And I think of the back of the Matildas, you know, lighting up Australia in 2023.

It was phenomenal and everyone just jumped on this women in sport bandwagon

and I feel like we're still on it and I just love watching women's sport now.

It's funny.

I do too and if, like, right down, you're from Perth, but, like, right down to NRLW,

rugby league over here, the quality of our rugby league, women's rugby league is ridiculous.

It's got so good over such a short period.

It wasn't great at the beginning, but it's so good now.

Their skills are so good and just women generally and everything they do.

So I was actually, during the Olympics, what I was viewing was mostly around women events,

Australian women and I was, like, you know, I felt so proud that you guys did so well for us.

I mean, it was great when the guys did things too, but, like,

what the women were doing here for us in Australia and I kept thinking to myself,

I just can't understand why Australian women in general are so successful relative to the rest of the world

and I often think to myself it's because we have a high standard of living in this country

and education is pretty good here too and it's quite equivalent in that everyone can get well educated.

Maybe private schools are slightly better or whatever, but generally speaking,

education is so good.

And our general system encourages women to play sport, like, you know,

a little athletics or get in the pool, swim some laps or play footy or play women's cricket.

Look at our women's cricket team.

They're so bloody good.

They're, like, dominant, like, fully dominant on a world stage.

It's so good to see our women doing so well.

Do you ever feel to yourself, feel a little bit sorry for the men?

No.

God, no.

No.

They get there.

They get their spotlight, you know, every weekend, AFL, NRL, you know.

That's true.

It is true.

So, I don't know.

I also think it just, it's really refreshing.

I think people have to remember when, you know, us girls winning at the Olympics.

Now, when we were little girls, you know, 19, 11, we didn't have female sports stars in our media.

You know, social media didn't exist and it was only AFL in the papers and AFL on the TVs

and women's AFL.

So, I grew up watching men's sport and it's really cool to see now that the young girls

are growing up watching us.

It's really cool.

And do you get, have you been back to Perth yet?

Yeah, I have.

And do they, young kids come up and talk to you?

Especially young girls?

Yeah, you know, there was a few young girls at the airport that just came and, you know,

welcomed me home just because they were fans and it was like, oh my God, is this like really

happening?

Or, you know, I'll get stopped in the supermarket just, you know, by a mom or a dad.

And they'll say, you know, my three daughters love you.

And it's just like, oh my gosh, like they have someone to look up to.

And how do you feel about it?

You know, like, because you're a young woman and that whole role model thing is, it can

be a bit tricky because you've got to be careful as well.

There's a responsibility associated with it.

And it's not like, yeah, I accept the responsibility.

It's not, it's put on you.

You're now a role model.

That's it.

Whether you like it or don't like it.

I agree.

Whether you agree to it or don't agree to it, did you seek it or didn't seek it doesn't

matter.

You are now a role model.

Yeah.

What do you think about that?

I think it's a given.

You know, you're right.

Whether you like it or not, you are in the media landscape and I think you need to take

that responsibility on.

And it is a bit of an intrusion on your private life though too.

It is.

But, you know, you can decide how much you play into it.

You don't play into it.

You can be in the spotlight and be a recluse or you can be in the spotlight and go to speaking

gigs.

You can really choose.

Yeah.

So like, but at the same time, because I have a little, I've experienced this a little bit,

it can become a little bit tiring.

You walk down the street, people recognize you straight away and you're very recognizable.

So, you know, whether you like it or don't like it, that's the case.

So it's funny, you know, like the swimmers are less recognizable because they're in the

water.

You don't really know.

You never thought about that.

And then when they get out of the water, their hairs are wet.

Yeah.

And you don't, whereas athletes.

Yeah.

And I was watching some of the American athletes in particular and also some of the British

athletes, particularly the track and field, the track, the runners, they, word promoter

is not the right word, but they're all well made up.

They're actually quite, they make themselves look the best possible version of themselves

in an attractiveness sense.

Yeah.

And the same for pole vaulting, et cetera.

Like you guys.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You can't wear makeup in the pool.

You look like you're a drowned rat when you get out, right?

But so you're much less recognizable.

In fact, but on the, in the track and the field, you make yourself more recognizable

because you want to, you want to look as good as you can.

So, because, you know, that helps you later on in some respects and you obviously got

to perform, but it makes you much more noticeable.

How important is, have you noticed this and have you bought into it as well over the years?

Because I've never really noticed it.

I think this Olympics was the most I've ever noticed how made up the women are, especially

in the a hundred meters and the 200 meters and the 400 meters.

Like, you know, the eyelashes, the whole thing going on.

Like.

Did you watch Sprint?

Yeah.

On Netflix?

Yeah.

Well, I watched the first couple of episodes, but then the Olympics started.

So I stopped watching it because I found out who was going to win anyway.

But, and not just the girls, the boys too.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think, you know, Sprint was a great.

Way to get our sport out there.

And I think it's actually really being led by those hundred meter girls, a hundred meter

boys and, you know, the two hundreds and even the 1500s, but you know, they're glammed up

and they are just.

That's the word, glammed up.

They're glammed up and they're doing it for the media attention and they're doing it to

get their name and our sport out there because compared to a lot of sports, we're not paid

that well, right?

So they're showmen and they know what they're doing.

It's a business, right?

And do you get that?

Do you get that bit?

I mean, do you buy into that yourself?

I mean, do you play, play into it?

I, I do.

And I don't, I think it's like at the end of the day, I'm there to see how far I can

take this.

And, but damn, if I need to be paid more than, you know, I will buy into that.

So.

I don't think anyone objects to it.

No.

And.

I think we like it.

I actually think I should like the fact that I like that word glammed up.

Yeah.

I like the fact that they are not afraid to represent themselves the way they feel is

appropriate.

Yeah.

And, you know, like, and fuck anyone who says, well, what are you doing like for way looking

like that when you're about to do your, you know, a hundred minute sprint or for that

matter.

I can look however I damn want.

Totally.

Because that to me is full confidence.

I agree.

And because, because if you look like that, but you can't perform, in other words, you're

all show, no go.

That's a, that's a problem.

So in other words, if you're going to look like that, if you're going to pitch up, you're

going to be able to follow through.

And that just tells me that they're fully confident about what they can do on the, on

the track or in your case with on, on, in the field, on the pole vault.

That's, that's a new thing.

That seems to be a new phenomenon.

That's certainly gained a lot more momentum than ever had in the past.

Yeah.

You're probably right.

You know, I, I think it really just comes back to trying to promote ourselves as individual

and also trying to promote our sport.

You know, you watch, you know, Shikari and she's like, she's just doing these and she's

getting her name out there.

And she's getting rewarded and, and Noel Lyles, you know, he, he enters the track and he's

running around screaming and jumping and he's a showman.

I loved it.

People talk about it and that's what the sport needs.

I loved it.

I actually, actually loved it.

And, and it actually gets me excited.

I mean, a hundred meters is pretty exciting anyway.

The 200, he's a, well, he didn't win the 200, he won the 100, but he normally wins the 200,

but he wasn't well.

But they're, they're, they're already electric sports.

Like it's over in a few seconds.

Um.

Um, and, and for him, someone like him, he's added a whole new, in his case, he added a

whole new layer of stuff into this.

Did you get to meet him?

I didn't.

No, but I, but you know, I see him at the Diamond League, so I've never been like, hello, Noah,

I'm Nina, but it's like, I'll see him around.

Would you, would you see him at the Diamond League?

Yeah, I will.

You bump into him?

Yeah, I will bump into him.

And what about the female athletes?

Did you see any, meet any of those?

Yeah, you, you, you, you travel around the world, like, you know, sprint really,

captures it really well.

You travel around the world for, you know, four to six months of the year, going from

Rome to Paris to London to Monaco to Morocco to, you know, America.

And you just compete and you stay in these hotels and you can, you eat and you sleep

with your competitors and then you go out on the track and you, and you do your thing.

That's cool.

It's very cool.

And one of the little controversies, because I heard you were doing an interview after

the event with the Silver and Bronze medalists, um, and they were talking about, well, I don't

think you were talking about it.

So I think the Silver medalist was the American girl was talking about it.

She was saying that, um, no, it was the Bronze medalist.

She said what fired her up was that her coach was nearly kicked out of the stadium for some

reason.

Yeah.

But really what I started thinking about then was the importance of, she was proposing

that coaches for pole vault, for example, should have a special place where you can

go back and talk to them after you maybe miss the, miss, miss.

One or hit the bar or whatever the case may be, or determining what height you're going

to jump at.

Maybe even what pole you're going to use for that matter.

Um, can you explain to me why it's so important for a pole vault or to be able to consult

her coach during the competition?

Yeah, good question.

I think it's like any sport, right?

You know, from that competition was so long, we were out there for three and a half hours

from the start of the competition to the, to the end of it.

Yeah.

And just like an AFL match or just like most other sports, you get a halftime break and

you speak to your coach and there's a very similar, right?

So you do a jump and I have some inkling about what happened, what do I need to do?

And you just go back, you watch the footage, you chat.

Oh, you can see the footage.

They show, they show you last, your jump.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

They'll just have an iPad and you watch it and you'll talk about it.

And that's, I guess, why you need a coach.

But would they, for example, say, look, the wind has changed direction.

Is wind a factor?

Yeah, it's a huge factor.

Really?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So they might say, look, Nina, the wind has changed.

It's coming in from the southwest now before it was a northerly or whatever.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You need to change your, your approach.

Yeah.

So, so that's a consultation.

You pretty much like, as you say, like playing footy.

Yeah.

They send messages down through the runners from the, from the stand or wherever the footy

coaches are and they have a halftime, as you say, because your event doesn't end in 10

seconds.

No.

Your event goes over a three hour period and you just, a lot of standing around.

A lot of waiting.

A lot of standing around, you know, if something like the wind changes or, you know, something

happens, you know, I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do and how I'm going to

fix that.

But it's just nice to, you know, have someone else there to bounce that off.

Like confirmation.

Yeah.

Let's talk about this.

Because, I mean, my gut feeling just, apart from having to be confident that you have

control over every part of your approach and the jump itself.

It seems to me confidence, like positivity is probably a key for someone like you in

your sport.

It's not like you can just say, there goes, I'm off, I'm running, I'm going to run a hundred

meters and I'm going to run as fast as I fucking can, you know.

Yeah.

Here you've got a lot of other shit that happens you've got no control over.

Sort of, you know, like, I don't know, wind factors, whatever.

It could be a particularly hot day or something like that.

How do you maintain your confidence during that whole period?

Yeah.

Because like, if you miss the, in your case, you didn't miss the first, your first jump

in your final jump.

But if you miss the first two, what do you, how many shots do you get?

Three?

Two?

Three.

Three at each high.

So you miss the first two.

So what do you, how do you get your head around that?

Like.

Yeah.

So going back to this word confidence, my sports psych and I have done so much work

on this, right?

So he likes to break it down confidence versus competence.

And, you know, you can't control how confident you're going to feel on the day, but what

you can control is how competent you are going to execute your skills.

Right.

So it's like run tall, run 16 steps, jump and get flung into the air and do that thing

you've done a thousand times as best you can.

And that is competence.

So like chunking it out into parts.

Yeah, I guess so.

Instead of just going, oh, my fuck, I've just got to run down, put the thing and try

and jump over that.

Just break it down, deconstruct it sort of thing.

Yeah.

You are competent at what you do.

You are an elite athlete for a reason.

And, you know, confidence is this fleeting thing which comes and goes and you get negative

thoughts, but then you get positive thoughts and you're trying to fight it.

And it's just not very stable, but executing what I can do and having competence and what

I do is very controllable.

Right.

And once you've done that a hundred times, a whole season, two whole seasons, three whole

seasons, that's when a little bit of confidence and what I like to say to my sports psych

is a little bit of magic comes into it.

Right.

And, you know, that's where you really can believe that you're going to win that gold

medal.

You don't need it, but it's helpful.

Do you have any little superstitions?

You know, are you going to tie your laces up a certain way?

Do you not put your spikes on until the last second or, you know, I don't know, have a

little good luck rabbit or something?

I mean, do you have a little, or is it more a procedure you get up on the day when you

get up at a certain time to eat this type of food?

No superstitions?

No superstitions.

And, you know, that's, again, something my sports psych is like, dude, if you're relying

on superstitions to win a gold medal, good luck to you kind of thing.

Because I see some of the runners, they bless themselves.

They bless themselves and stuff like that, like, which I find sort of interesting.

Like, because I often wonder whether, I've been involved in sports, definitely not your

level, but where I used to dream, for example, the night before I forgot my mouth guard turning

up to the game or turning up to the event.

Do you actually get those sorts of things happening to you?

You think I've left, I've only got one shoe with me.

Does your mind play games?

Of course it does.

And, you know, I missed one of my attempts in the Olympic final at 470 and lots of people

asked me about it and, you know, it was a good miss and I knew what I had to do on my

second attempt and you go back and you do it.

But those thoughts come into your mind, right?

And it's like, well, what if I miss my second attempt and what if I freak out?

And then I'm on my third attempt and then I haven't won gold at the Olympics.

So it's literally just about noticing those negative thoughts,

seeing them for what they are.

Your brain is, you know, programmed to find fear, notice it, put it away and you get on with the job, right?

So.

What happens from here?

So what's your next, I mean, obviously you've got your events that you have to attend, but that's sort

of like for me business as usual for you.

Business as usual, yeah.

But what's your next big thing you want to achieve?

I would love to break the world record.

Now, what is the world record?

The world record is 506, set by a Russian back in the 2000s, I can't name the exact year, but the five meter club in pole vault is a very elite thing.

Only four women have ever jumped five meters.

So if you're one of those women, you're a goat of the sport.

So I'd love to enter that.

And then, yeah, I feel like I haven't mastered my sport yet.

I still feel like I'm quite young and I feel like I have so much more to learn.

Right?

So, you know, maybe the world record is on the cards, but I want to enjoy my sport.

I want to go to the LA Olympics and.

Oh, really?

That's cool.

Yeah, of course.

Yeah.

So you're going to stick with us.

I'm going to stick with us.

Yeah, that I'm really, well, I think everyone's glad about that.

So does that mean then for the next four years, do you basically are you going to start now?

For the next four years, for LA?

Yeah, of course.

You know, I'll get back from my competitions.

I'll have a two to three month break.

I need a rest.

And then, you know, the four year cycle kind of starts all over again, right?

So because, you know, I'd imagine your sport in particular, there's a great deal of stress

on your nervous system because your brain's going to tell your nervous system to make

all your muscles do a whole lot of things, sort of nearly all at once.

And they're all sort of full on.

Like you've got to do it quickly.

You've got to do it quickly, immediately with a massive amount of force, just one movement

up there like that.

That must drain you mentally.

Yeah.

Like you need to recharge your whole nervous system.

Just give it a rest.

Yeah, I do.

Recovery is actually like a huge part of our training.

You know, like you just said, it's so much impact on the body and the nervous system

is so drained and it asks so much of us to jump.

So a lot of it, it's like...

Yeah.

I'm going to have the weekend off, coaches.

And, you know, I like to also think of the Olympics and World Champs and Comm Games and

Diamond Leagues as like seasons.

And, you know, in a month's time, I'll be finished my season and then I'll go into my

rest season and I'll rejuvenate and I'll, you know, in a few months' time, I'll get

back to training and it'll start all over again.

Well, I have to say, I mean, from our point of view, my point of view, from Australia's

point of view, it's been, it's a great privilege to be able to sit down and talk to you.

You're extraordinarily accomplished as a person, not just as an athlete, but as a person.

You're really measured in everything you do.

I'm sure you're showing me your best side.

I'm sure there are periods when you go unmeasured.

No, I was on the red eye.

This isn't my best side.

Well, you're extraordinary.

So thanks very much for everything you've done for us and for the sport.

And thanks for sharing all those sort of important moments for the uneducated people like me who

really have a lot of experience.

I really have no idea how that all works, what you do, like as a pole vaulter.

Yeah.

Like it's actually quite magnificent, but thanks very much.

No, thanks so much for having me, Mark.

You're most welcome.

Not all that long ago, money was simple.

You earned it, saved some, spent some, and maybe invested in a house if you were lucky.

No apps, no online banking, no thinking beyond what was in your wallet.

But times have changed.

In today's money market, growth can come in many ways.

And the way we think about cash is continuously evolving.

Enter Australia's highest rated crypto exchange, Swiftex.

Whether you are just starting to explore the crypto market or are already deep in the game,

Swiftex makes it easy to acquire, sell, and trade digital assets all in one place.

So if you're someone who's thought about dipping your toes in the crypto market,

but isn't sure where to start, this might be for you.

Visit swiftex.app forward slash Mark Boris to check it out.

If you've been listening to this podcast, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

If you've been listening along for a while, you'll know I'm all about staying sharp physically and mentally.

As I get older, staying on top of my game means being smarter with how I support my body and mind day in, day out.

One product I've already added to my routine from the bulk nutrients range is their NMN Extend.

It's a science-backed blend of 10 powerful ingredients, including NMN, resveratrol, and hyaluronic acid.

Now, this is designed to support everything from energy and muscle.

To skin hydration, joint health, and even mental clarity.

And by the way, I need all those.

Whether I'm powering through a busy week or just investing in my long-term health,

NMN Extend helped me stay ready for whatever's next.

And believe me, it tastes pretty good too.

Head to bulknutrients.com.au and see why NMN Extend might be the edge you've just been looking for.