Rhydian Cowley

BIOGRAPHY

After a strong international junior career, Rhydian Cowley made his senior international debut over a decade ago, in 2012. A regular on National teams through the decade 2010s, the last few years Rhydian’s career has reached new levels. Starting with a standout eighth place at the Tokyo Olympics over 50km, he was brilliant at the 2022 world championships with two top-20 places in the 20km and a new event – 35km walk. In March 2023, he lowered his 20km PB by almost a minute, clocking 1:19.30 in Japan elevating him to number 8 Australian all-time and in May he took three minutes off his National 35km walk record with a time of 2:27.33. In June 2023 he was selected in his fifth World Championships team in the 35km walk – his 15th senior Australian team.

In Budapest on day one, competing in the 20km walk, he sped home in the race moving through the field to place a tremendous 14th and clock 1:19.31 – just one second outside his PB. It was also the fourth fastest time by an Australian at a major championship. Five days later he was on the start line for the 35km walk where in gruelling heat and humidity he was forced to withdraw from the race, collapsing onto the road with just seven kilometres to go. He was suffering exhaustion and fatigue from the earlier 20km race.

His 2024 campaign has been terrific. During summer he set PBs in the 10,000m track walk (38:13.51) and 20km walk (1:18.33) – now the third best Australian all-time in both events. In April at the World Teams Race Walking Championships in Turkey, he combined with Jemima Montag to qualify an Australian team for the Paris Olympics in the new event, the Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay. They placed a safe and conservative sixth place.

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Rhydian first started race walking when he was eight, finding a natural affinity with the event at his local Little Athletics Centre (Knox). 

In a successful junior career, Rhydian represented Australia on three occasions. He made his international debut in the junior 10km event at the 2008 World Walking Cup in Russia, following up with another World Walking Cup appearance and the IAAF World Junior Championships in 2010. 

Rhydian’s senior team debut was in 2012, at the World Race Walking Cup at the age of 21, and in the following year he lined up at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow. More national teams followed in 2014 Racewalking Cup and 2015 World University Games, leading to an Olympic debut in Rio, where he placed 33rd in the 20km Walk in 1:23.30. Rhydian had his opportunity to compete at an international meet on home soil at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where he placed 11th.

Between 2012 and 2018, Rhydian’s season bests for the 20km walk hovered between 1:22 to 1:24 hours. In 2019, aged 28, and after eight appearances in the green and gold at the highest levels, Rhydian took a step forward, lowering his PB to 1:20.19 in Nomi Japan. This new best elevated him to number seven Australian all-time, and qualified him for both the Doha World Championships and Tokyo Olympics.

Rhydian credited this performance leap to finding a settled routine and a renewed focus after adjusting to full-time work in 2017 and 2018, with a good block of training and a move to Brent Vallance’s squad as key to his progression. In 2019 he analysed his improvement. “It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the biggest difference, but I think my last 12 months of training having been some of the most consistent I've managed so far is probably a large factor. The change in training environment at the end of 2018 has also made a difference, getting regular training sessions multiple times a week in with a good group of athletes including Jemima Montag, Quentin Rew (NZL) and Kyle Swan, compared with needing to travel further afield for training partners I earlier years. I've also been focusing on having fun and enjoying my athletics a bit more in this last year, which I think also helps – I’ve learned that I’m at my best was an athlete when I’m having fun and enjoying being myself.”

Selected for the Tokyo Olympics, his second Games, Rhydian qualified in both the 20km and 50km distances. Forced to chose just one event by the timetable, he competed in the 50km Walk, after contesting the 20km event in Rio. Ranked 57th on the start line, and in only his second race over the distance, Rhydian placed an outstanding eighth in Sapporo, the nineth occasion an Australian has finished in the top-8 in the event. He also clocked a 57 seconds personal best, the only person in the field to PB.
"I'm over the moon. A personal best at championship level," Rhydian said. "The last couple of kilometres I just felt a big blister was forming on my foot that made it very hard to fight for those positions just ahead of me, but I’m proud of a top-8. The COVID lockdowns over the last year probably helped the result. I was working from home and didn't have a commute, so had a lot more time to build my base for the distance, and recover, without daily trips to the city. Australia has a strong history in this event, with top-eight results all the way back to 1956. I'm happy to contribute to that. To follow the footsteps of someone like four-time Olympic Medallist Jared Tallent is a real honour." 

In 2022 Rhydian was selected to compete his seventh World Race Walking Teams Championship in Muscat Oman in March. He placed an excellent 11th in 1:26.09 in hilly and stiflingly hot conditions.

He then competed at his fourth world championships in Eugene in 2022, producing two top-20 performances, his best ever results at that championship. He was 19th in the 20km Walk in 1:23.37 and nine days later, 18th in the 35km walk, where he broke the National record in clocking 2:30.34.

Competing in his third National team for the year, Rhydian placed 8th in the 10,000m walk at the Commonwealth Games.

Gratitude and giving back: Rhydian is secretary of the AA Athletes’ Advisory Committee and ‘relishing’ being a senior athlete, and finding more meaning to his sport in recent years by stepping up his community engagement to ‘pay it forward’ after all the support he has received from friends, family and community to get to where he is today…Hobbies: making jam, gardening, reading, birdwatching...Favourite sporting moment: Attending Jared Tallent's gold medal ceremony for his 2012 medal from the 50km walk (awarded in 2016 in Melbourne, due to a Russian doping disqualification)…Advice to your younger self: Enjoy the journey and don't take it for granted. Never stop being curious and learning….Tertiary study: Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Commerce, Deakin University (2009-2014). 

@ 21 May 2024 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au