Team Captains for the Australian Athletics Team announced

With five Olympic Games and 16 World Championships between them, a quartet comprised of Michelle Jenneke, Linden Hall, Rhydian Cowley and Dan Golubovic will steer the ship for the Australian Athletics Team at the Paris Olympic Games next week.

Voted into the captaincy by their peers based on experience, their adaptability at major championships as well as their ability to bring both energy and fun to the environment, the leadership team will look to bring cohesion to the team as the cohort of 75 individual athletes embark on their Parisian quest.

“Athletics is an individual sport but when an athlete has a strong team and strong support system around them, it can make a huge difference,” Jenneke said.

“If an athlete feels more confident, they’re going to perform better, and if you can convince an athlete they belong on the world stage, they’re going to believe it too,” Jenneke said.

A veteran on the team at 31-years-old, hurdler Jenneke has seen Australia adapt and grow to become the powerhouse nation in global athletics that is known as today and believes much comes down to the team environment.

“Some of my favourite moments from the Olympic Games that I have been to was from sitting in the crowd and supporting my teammates and cheering them on. As much as I care about my performance, I really do care about the performance of the rest of the team, and I want to encourage the idea of the fact that we are a team over here and supporting one another can make all the difference.”

For distance runner Linden Hall, the opportunity to mentor debutants has been a driving force for her continued leadership after captaining the team at the Oregon and Budapest World Athletics Championships.

“It’s nice to have that endorsement of your peers and it’s cool to get to lead it with a group of people so it’s not just on your shoulders. It’s cool to have the opportunity to share your experience and learnings and what was special to you at your first Games. We’ve got so many first-timers on the team this time around which is really exciting.” Hall said.

“We have a really good collective of people here, and it’s about being able to connect people and get to know everyone, share our experience and being someone that they feel comfortable with.”

One of the most capped athletes on the Australian Athletics Team, two-time Olympic race walker Rhydian Cowley echoed Hall’s sentiments, emphasising the current culture of the team.

“The culture has been up there for a few years now and we really want to be able to foster that and see that grow. We’re looking for a place where everyone feels really comfortable and personally that they feel like they belong so they can go out there and perform the best that they can,” Cowley said.

“From personal experience, if you’re uncomfortable of if you’re stressing or if you’ve got a million things going on in your mind because you’re not in the moment, everything goes kind of haywire, so if we can just foster that environment where everyone is ready to do their job and comfortable that they’re in the zone, then that’s mission accomplished.”

With two World Athletics Championships and a Commonwealth medal to his name, Golubovic is the only Olympic debutant of the quartet, but has been inspired by his co-captains to step up to the challenge.

“This is my first Games and my own personal mission here is to enjoy it and soak in as much of the experience as I possibly can. It’s something I’ve learnt the importance of in my experience in representing Australia so far, and something I learnt from my fellow captains.

“These guys, they were actually my captains from Worlds last year and they did a very successful job with the entire cohesion. I got so much of out of them making people able to relax and do what they need to do.”

“Everyone that held those positions were always bright and positive, but still on a mission, and it was really cool to see that aura of confidence and the impact they made, and it’s something I look forward to contributing to.”

The captains were announced to the wider Australian Athletics Team this week, and the group will now work together at the Athletics Australia staging camp in Montpellier, France to help prepare the team in the final days before the Olympics begin.

“I just want everyone to have the time of their lives. There is nothing quite like going to an Olympic Games and I want them all to have the best time,” Jenneke said. 

The Australian Athletics Team will begin their Olympic campaign on August 1, with the commencement of the Athletics program.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted 23/07/2024