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Athletics Australia Staff Appointments

Published Tue 21 May 2019

Craig Pickering has started as Athletics Australia’s new Pathways Manager. Craig was an accomplished sprinter who medalled at World and European Championships, and is one of the few athletes in the world who has been selected in both summer (2008) and winter (2014, bobsleigh) Olympics. 

A few of his standout athletic achievements include:

  1. Winning the European U20 Championships in 2005
  2. World U18 medal in 2003
  3. A silver medal at the 2007 European Indoor Championships
  4. A 4x100m relay bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships

Craig has a degree in exercise science and is in the process of getting his doctorate in elite performance at the University of Central Lancashire (UK). He was previously the Head of Sports Science with DNAfit Global and his appointment is a real asset to the AA staff team.

Also appointed to the role of SA Performance Coach is Adam Didyk. Adam is one of the countries top endurance coaches, being the Australian Team Coach (endurance) at both the 2017 IAAF World Championships (Endurance) and 2016 Rio Olympics. He was also a Coach of the Year Nominee in 2015/2016 and 2017/2018.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt Beckenham has been appointed as the ACT Performance Coach. 

Adam’s and Matt’s main roles are to:

  • Drive an Athletics performance culture within the NASS athletes and the relevant NIN member focused on the delivery of the Athletics Australia HP KPIs. 
  • Lead formal meeting with the athlete, their personal coach and their key performance team members (e.g. physiotherapist, S&C, sports psychologist) at least twice per year to agree on three gap to podium priorities which will drive all coaching and athlete decisions to achieve performance outcomes.   
  • Establish close relationships with athletes and coaches to enable understanding and advice for the athlete and coach (and broader support team) regarding their current training status, technical and tactical strengths and weaknesses, medium and long term training and competition plans.   
  • Oversee and facilitate the use of sports science and sports medicine to maximise training availability and enhance performance aligned with the athlete performance plan and three (3) Gap to Podium Priorities.