Kimberley Smith is certainly not your average age group athlete, or average athlete by any means. After losing her sister to cancer several years ago, she began the sport as a way of dealing with her grief and she found it transformed her life. She is as humble as ever, but brave too, doing her first triathlon on a friend’s bike with only one swim, one bike and a couple of runs under her belt! An impressive feat to say the least.
I recently took the time to chat with Marley-Jo (MJ), who is a female police offer, triathlete and mother of two children, one of whom has severe learning difficulties and epilepsy. MJ works long hours in Highway Patrol and often survives off two to three hours’ sleep, as her son, Denver, struggles to sleep. Yet she still makes time to train and values it all the more as a result of her circumstances. Sport is a luxury, which many in other countries cannot afford. Marley-Jo certainly does not waste a moment and understands the importance of health, fitness and nutrition in not only performance, but also productivity and maintaining quality of life.
Alex is an Ironman triathlete and nurse from Western Australia. She lived and breathed triathlon for several years whilst training and racing for Ironman. Her reason for racing was not to be the best in the field, but to conquer the demons in her head. Her thoughts told her she couldn’t on countless occasions, yet she told herself, she could. Alex then went on to finish two of the most gruelling Ironman races in Australia!
Not eating meat has become popular over the past 10 years and certainly a point of interest and consideration for many athletes. However, as a female athlete, is it possible to adopt a plant-based diet safely, whilst maintaining a high intensity and volume of training? Can this be done without risking injury or fatigue?
Michelle is literally mad about running. Having only started running in her early 40s, she has gone from 5km parkruns to training for her first 50km ultrarun! Michelle is heavily involved in the running community and simply adores the people she shares her love of running with.
Sam Harris is new to the sport of triathlon and already securing his spot at the top in all of the races he has touched down on the start line of. Determined as ever, and despite several injury setbacks, Sam plans on qualifying for the Sprint Distance Age Group World Championships to represent Australia.
Roxy Jakob is a mum and an athlete living in Grafton in NSW. Having grown up with no interest in sport, she decided to take the plunge at a later age and get into the multidiscipline sport of triathlon. She now has two young kids and is training for her first Half Ironman distance Aquabike – all in addition to studying, working and making time for family and friends. She has also recently set up the Grafton Triathlon Club to encourage others to participate in the sport!
Every athlete strives for an edge over the competition and the key to achieving peak performance can be through optimal nutrition. Although we have very clear nutritional guidelines for performance, we also know that in reality a personalised approach can make a significant difference to your outcome. And so as it is vital to recognise the differing nutritional requirements between sexes, this article will focus on the specific needs of male athletes to get the absolute best out of your performance.
Alexa Leary is one of those truly special people in life. She is a talented Junior Elite Triathlete and World Title Medalist, who was well on her way to a successful career in sport, before she unfortunately suffered a tragic cycling accident. The accident in July 2021 left her with devastating brain and nervous system injuries. Over the past six months, Alexa has had the courage and dedication to make an unanticipated and exceptional recovery, with ongoing rehabilitation and some memory loss.
This week in the Bindi Athlete Interview Series, I interviewed Audrey Hall, an exceptional middle distance and mountain runner. Audrey has had an intense upbringing in sport and suffered from numerous injuries.
