Mielczarek’s Big Boost | Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship

Fresh off a top-10 finish at the World Under 20 Championships, Mackenzie Mielczarek has bolstered her path to Paris 2024 with a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Tier 1 Scholarship for 2023, locking away mentor Sharon Buchanan and $10,000 in funding. 

A ferocious competitor with substantial talent and drive, the rising javelin thrower adds Olympic gold medallist Buchanan to her network headed by Coach Steve Cain, only now beginning to realise her true potential through the support of others. 

“It definitely feels a lot more professional and it’s very exciting going into the Open ranks. It feels like it’s getting real now and I am starting to realise that this something I can take really far,” Mielczarek said. 

“To be one of the six recipients is a massive honour and it’s a great reassurance that I’m doing something right, and that people see potential in me to become a great athlete. I just filled out the form and didn’t really expect anything to come from it, then I got the call and I was blown away.”

With Buchanan notching up 186 games of international hockey for Australia including Olympic gold in 1988 and a stint as captain from 1989-1993, it is the mindset of a champion that Mielczarek is most eager to tap into as she looks to harness her talent. 

“Having Sharon at my disposal will be amazing. She is an amazing woman and a very talented athlete, so I am really excited to have her on board. Being a young athlete in the beginning of my career I have so many questions, concerns and unknowns to address which she has no doubt experienced,” Mielczarek said. 

“Having someone that I can sponge off about all these situations before I get into them myself and getting her advice on things like struggling at a competition or with injury – talking to someone who isn’t family or a friend will help.”

Fighting back tears after finishing ninth in Cali when throwing with a broken foot, Mielczarek reflected on the situation in which her body denied her the opportunity to perform at her best - acknowledging that she was not ready for the consequential result and stint on the sidelines. 

“I think that if I had Sharon prior to the competition, I would have been a lot more prepared in knowing the processes and dealing with different situations. Moving forward, having someone to ask those questions and not entering blind will be really great,” Mielczarek said.

“Following the World Under 20 Championships that I have become more motivated than ever.”

The 19-year-old’s Paris 2024 campaign is set to be strengthened by further international experience in 2023, aided by her scholarship funding from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. 

“Next year my main goal is to get across to Europe, to travel and compete a lot in preparation for the 2024 season and trying to get to the Olympics. I’m going to spend a few months in Germany over the European season summer, so the funding helps immensely,” Mielczarek said. 

With an Olympic gold medallist by her side, there is one question that Mielczarek can’t help but ask. 

“It’s definitely something I aspire to do myself, so to find out what that was like for Sharon and the processes she used will be great for me,” Mielczarek said. 

Fellow Australian athletes Angus Hincksman (Tier 2) and Aidan Murphy (Tier 3) also received Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarships for 2023.   
 

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 18/10/2022