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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Gold Coast, QLD, AUS |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | His parents, and his brothers. (smh.com.au, 28 Jul 2014) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Dick Telford [personal], AUS, from 2002 |
General Interest | |
| Other information | INJURY TURNING POINT He began his athletics career as a middle distance runner, but after persistent pelvic injuries and being dropped from the Australian Institute of Sport's scholarship programme, his long-term future in the sport was in doubt. Following a year-long recovery from injury, his coach Dick Telford suggested he should switch to long distance running. He went on to make his marathon debut in 2010 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In his second marathon he won a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. "I had about 12 months of just feeling sore and not feeling great. [My athletics career] was up in the air. My parents and my brothers kept me motivated." (smh.com.au, 28 Jul 2014) ILLNESS He was born with a diaphragmatic hernia [hole in the diaphragm] and required surgery just a few hours after being born. (smh.com.au, 21 Apr 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Queensland Academy of Sport: Australia |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Business, Business Studies - Gold Coast Institute of TAFE/Griffith University: Australia |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Golf, listening to music, playing computer games. (Facebook page, 15 Jan 2016) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning a gold medal in the marathon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. (aheadofthegames.embracing2018.com, 11 Jun 2015) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | He was introduced to the sport by competing every year in his primary school sports carnival. He also played football, but decided to pursue athletics as he wanted to be solely responsible for his performance. |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Ethiopian long distance runner Haile Gebrselassie. (olympics.com.au, 26 Jun 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He took up running at age 13. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Turtle (olympics.com.au, 26 Jun 2012) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." (olympics.com.au, 26 Jun 2012) |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (qasport.qld.gov.au, 04 Aug 2015) |