Doctor’s Orders | Little Chaos a Large Success

Just weeks after winning bronze at the World Championships in Budapest, Mackenzie Little closed the page on the final exam of her Doctor of Medicine degree. Her miraculous juggling acts was seemingly over, but ask the javelin star and she will tell you the stakes are only getting higher.

In the fast-paced world of 2023, Little continues to live harmoniously with the chaos. Balancing the regular pressures of 26-year-old life with a decorated athletics career and intense study regime, the Sydneysider provides a candid perspective:

“I have certainly had people tell me that I need to take a year off medicine to focus on athletics and to imagine what could happen if I put all my energy into it. There’s an Olympic medal on the line but I’m so confident that this is the way I compete best. Even if it wasn’t, sacrificing the benefits I get from my friends, family and career is not something I’m willing to do,” Little says.

While many equate time invested into success returned in the world of sport, Little’s choices are so genuine that they reflect understanding rather than belief, and the numbers back it up.

The world rank number two has a World Championships bronze medal to her name and rarely finishes outside of the podium on the esteemed Diamond League circuit, all while adding four metres to her personal best since the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 where she claimed eighth place.

So why change now?

“I’m really excited for the Paris Olympics next year and I hope that I can do well, but I know that the way I will do that is to continue working hard and be grateful for anything that comes my way. I try to be balanced and know that I haven’t sacrificed my entire life for this, and remind myself that I’m still a person outside of the competition,” Little says.

“Maybe this is the cautious part of me but I know I have to work really hard to back it up. I got some good opportunities this year, but I also got really lucky. No matter what happens it will always be such an incredible year of my life.”

Travelling back and forth from Australia to Europe and the United States five times in 2023 while undertaking the final year of her Doctor of Medicine degree, Little’s confidence in her ability to pull off the feat was hatched one year earlier after a late call up to the Paris Diamond League.

“I remember telling my Mum that there is this thing that had come up off a few days notice and I kind of want to go. She told me a story about when I was a baby and she was up at night breastfeeding me at 2am, she would watch the Paris Diamond League. She had some special memories and realised it was a really cool opportunity, and she was the one who convinced me to take it,” Little says.

“I was ridiculously jetlagged and I remember standing at the top of the runway and feeling a bit wobbly, but I also remember thinking that it was so worth it with the stadium and the atmosphere.”

The finer details only add to the legend. On occasions, the Stanford graduate would depart on Thursday night, attend Friday tutorials online, conquer the world's best athletes in Europe over the weekend before returning for placement by 7:00am on Monday morning.

“I looked forward to my travel weekends because I got more sleep than I normally would. I would get to be on a plane for 14 hours uninterrupted and then I would land somewhere nice in Europe and my only job is to lay in the plush hotel bed and eat a bit of food,” Little says.

Coach Angus McEntyre operates on the same wavelength, with Little declaring the squad works “hard but smart” to ensure social and emotional wellbeing outside of athletics.

“Angus is the perfect coach for me at this stage of my career. He understands the demands of a full-time job outside of athletics because he has one too. He has all the knowledge and passion, but also a balanced outlook that treats me as a person first,” Little says.

Set to begin a full time role at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital in 2024, the Olympian will once again embark on a busy year both on and off the track – but she wouldn’t want it any other way.  

“The stakes are a little bit different now, I want to take that job seriously next year and I’m really excited about it. I’m glad that the Paris qualifier has been thrown and I don’t need to go chasing points in Europe,” Little says.

“If you happen to have an incident and rock up to Royal North Shore Hospital, you could be met with me. I’m not sure if that makes you feel reassured, but that’s what would happen. I’m leaning towards surgery as a career but the next couple of years are spent rotating through.”

2023 saw Little win World Championships bronze, claim third place in the Diamond League Final alongside a further two Diamond League podiums, in addition to her second consecutive Australian title and a personal best of 65.70m.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 2/11/2022