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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Brisbane, QLD, AUS |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | QEII Track Club: Brisbane, QLD, AUS |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Commerce, Law - University of Queensland: Australia |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | He pulled out of the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, due to ankle and Achilles tendon injuries. (AFP, 09 Jul 2013) He was hampered by an Achilles problem during the 2011 season. He took a month off at the end of the season before resuming training in October 2011. However, the problem persisted and he underwent another four week rehabilitation process. (theage.com.au, 17 Feb 2012) He sustained a calf injury at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Korea. (heraldsun.com.au, 03 Feb 2012) He missed most of the 2010 season with a groin injury. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 26 Jun 2011) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. (smh.com.au, 03 Sep 2011) |
| Other sports | A talented junior Australian rules football player, he also excelled at rugby union and was chosen as a reserve for the Queensland schoolboys rugby team. (abc.net.au, 25 Feb 2010) |
| Hero / Idol | English football player Wayne Rooney. (QAS, 10 Aug 2010) |
| Ambitions | To win gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (smh.com.au, 03 Feb 2013) |
| Awards and honours | He was named Australia's 2012 Male Athlete of the Year. He was also awarded the 2012 Male Eurosport Outstanding Performance award. (iaaf.org, 06 Dec 2012) He became Australia's youngest male medallist at a world championships when he won bronze in the long jump at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. (athletics.com.au, 10 Aug 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Gary Bourne |
| Coach from what year? | 2007 |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began athletics at a young age and won multiple Australian junior long jump titles. However, he quit at age 14 in order to pursue other sports. In late 2007 he was introduced to coach Gary Bourne and despite narrowly missing the 2008 Olympic qualification mark, he was convinced by Bourne to continue doing the long jump at elite level. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2009 |
| Competing for | Australia |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Student |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Only do what you enjoy." (QAS, 10 Aug 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | Australia |
General Interest | |
| Other information | RECORD In July 2011 he broke an 11-year-old Australian record in the long jump, recording 8.54m at an athletics meet in Stockholm, Sweden. The previous record of 8.49m was set by Jai Taurima when he won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. "To finally jump Jai's record is just so special, I watched him set that mark in my lounge room when I was 12 years old." (athletics.com.au, 2011) TIME OUT A four-time Australian junior long jump champion, he quit athletics in 2001. After first playing Australian rules football, he later played rugby and was selected for the Queensland schoolboys squad in 2005. He eventually quit rugby to focus on his studies. He returned to long jump in 2007 after a chance meeting with a former teammate. "I'd put on a little weight and was going out too much. I figured that at worst I'd get to hang out with these guys a bit more and get a bit fitter. I definitely had no intention of ever becoming an elite athlete when I first went back to training [in 2007]." (nytimes.com, 17 Jan 2012; smh.com.au, 27 Aug 2011; dailytelegraph.com.au, 26 Jul 2011) WALLABY FRIENDSHIP His is friends with Australian rugby players Will Genia and Quade Cooper from his days playing schoolboys rugby. The trio still keep in regular contact. "Will and Quade sent me a text when I broke the Australian record, that was nice. We're at opposite ends of the world at the moment, but we do keep in touch when we can." (smh.com.au, 27 Aug 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | Watching Australian long jumper Jai Taurima win a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, made him want to compete at the event in the future. |