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Speaker 1: Hey there, I am your host, Felicity Hali, and you're

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Speaker 1: listening to an extra special episode of Healthy Ish, your

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Speaker 1: podcast from Body and Soul. Yes, this week we're celebrating

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Speaker 1: out superstar Olympians, and today you'll hear about the newest

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Speaker 1: Olympics sport. Breaking University academic and breakdancer Rachel Gunn aka

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Speaker 1: Raygun gives us the lowdown on breaking and what it

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Speaker 1: takes to win a medal in this new Olympic sport.

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Speaker 1: Keep in mind Rachel popped into the studio a few

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Speaker 1: months ago before Paris. Yes, I had to get these

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Speaker 1: interviews done well before they all jetted off. Now, as

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Speaker 1: you know, keep our Healthish episodes quite short. But if

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Speaker 1: you do like what you hear today, make sure you're

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Speaker 1: listening to Extra Healthy Ish, where Rachel Raygun shares how

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Speaker 1: she's defying stereotypes in sport. Actually, that was a great chat.

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Speaker 1: Listen in search for Extra Healthy Ish wherever you get

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Speaker 1: your podcasts. Rachel, welcome too, healthy Ish. Thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for having me, and a big congratulations. How exciting

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Speaker 1: are after Paris?

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Speaker 2: I know it's still wild even though I qualified at

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Speaker 2: the end of October, and then you know, I was

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Speaker 2: announced earlier this year. I'm still wrapping my head around it,

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Speaker 2: and I'm still trying to It still seems unreal to me.

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Speaker 1: What are you most excited about?

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Speaker 2: Look, I'm really excited for everyone to see breaking at

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Speaker 2: the Olympics. I'm so excited for people to see what

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Speaker 2: all these dances from around the world are going to do.

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Speaker 2: Their different styles, they're different approaches, they're different big moments

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Speaker 2: we call like their blow ups. It's like so exciting

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Speaker 2: to watch. And I'm also excited just to see for myself,

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Speaker 2: you know, what they're bringing out for the Olympics. You know,

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Speaker 2: the stakes are so high, and I find the World

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Speaker 2: Championships exciting, so I can't wait to see what everyone's

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Speaker 2: bringing out for the Olympics.

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Speaker 1: What is breaking? I mean I had to do. I

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Speaker 1: had to go in a bit of a hole when

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Speaker 1: I was researching my chat with you because I wasn't

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Speaker 1: quite sure. I just was trying to get my head

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Speaker 1: around at all. Yeah. Yeah, it is quite difficult to describe.

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Speaker 2: I heard a good description recently that it's like the

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Speaker 2: artistic gymnastics, so like the floorwork, the pommel horse combined

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Speaker 2: with skateboarding. You know, that kind of cool, chill, This

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Speaker 2: is really easy kind of vibe, adding some dancing and

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Speaker 2: then you're starting to get close and it's you know,

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Speaker 2: it is a real mix of athleticism, artistry, musicality, creativity.

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Speaker 2: So it's a really hard dance to describe succinctly. But

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Speaker 2: the more you watch it, the more you understand it

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Speaker 2: and I think appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: You make it sound so easy, but then when you

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Speaker 1: actually watch a few videos, it looks so bloody hard.

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Speaker 2: It is so hard, and I think that's the thing

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Speaker 2: that many people don't realize. Like one of the foundational

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Speaker 2: steps for footwork, so we're not even talking about power moves,

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Speaker 2: the gymnastic key style moves is to be in the

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Speaker 2: squat position or in a plank position. You know, that's

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Speaker 2: the starting position for then all the kicks and twists

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Speaker 2: and turns that you do on the floor. Nothing in

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Speaker 2: breaking is easy and it takes. It's really hard for

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Speaker 2: everyone when they get started. So yeah, going to be

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Speaker 2: really awesome to see what comes out in Paris.

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Speaker 1: Explain to me the name thing. I feel like there's

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Speaker 1: a whole language when it comes to breaking. Yeah, and

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Speaker 1: you've got a name.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, Look, not everyone goes with a name, but

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Speaker 2: I what is your name? My name is Reagan and

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Speaker 2: it's a combination of my first and last name, which

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Speaker 2: I didn't even realize until I was in my early

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Speaker 2: twenties and someone said that would be a cool name for.

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Speaker 1: Me, and I was like, oh, my gosh, yes.

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Speaker 2: But it is like a cool space for you to

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Speaker 2: kind of reinvent yourself and become this other person and

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Speaker 2: people start to recognize and know you as this other

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Speaker 2: kind of maybe more confident, more outgoing, maybe you know,

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Speaker 2: more in your face kind of character. And so it

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Speaker 2: is really exciting now that people are annoying me as

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Speaker 2: ray Gun and I've kind of built up that name.

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Speaker 1: What does it take to win a medal in your

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Speaker 1: event at the Olympics?

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Speaker 2: You have to be good at so many different things

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Speaker 2: as well as be really really fit. So the way

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Speaker 2: that the judging works is you're essentially they're essentially a

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Speaker 2: series of matches. Okay, so you're trying to beat your

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Speaker 2: opponent to proceed to the next round. The judges are

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Speaker 2: comparing you and your opponent across five categories. They're looking

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Speaker 2: at your vocabulary, so your range of moves. So if

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Speaker 2: you're just doing headspins all round. The next round, you

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Speaker 2: know you're not going to go very far. Husband's a

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Speaker 2: very very impressive and very difficult. But you need to

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Speaker 2: show a better range of movement. Okay, So think about orientation,

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Speaker 2: think about different parts of the body on the ground,

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Speaker 2: think about travels, level changes. They're also looking at your

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Speaker 2: execution and your technique, so your cleanliness of movement, how

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Speaker 2: sharp your movement is, the flow of your movement. They're

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Speaker 2: looking at your musicality. So many people don't realize, but

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Speaker 2: we don't actually choose the music that we're going to

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Speaker 2: be dancing too interesting.

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Speaker 1: It's a battle, you know.

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Speaker 2: You step up to the floor when everyone's ready, the

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Speaker 2: DJ drops.

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Speaker 1: That beat, and so does everyone dance the same tune?

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Speaker 2: No no, I mean you and your opponent in that

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Speaker 2: round do. But then the DJ will change the track

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Speaker 2: again for the second or third round. So you have

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Speaker 2: to adjust. You have to you know, respond to the music.

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Speaker 2: And that first section that's called top rock, the standing

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Speaker 2: part of the dance is really where you need to

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Speaker 2: show your musicality and show that you know this is

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Speaker 2: the best track you've had in your life, even though

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Speaker 2: maybe on the inside you were going, damn it, what

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Speaker 2: you're going to do? Yeah, and then finally they're also

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Speaker 2: looking at your originality, So this is where you are

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Speaker 2: expected to innovate on the foundation of breaking So maybe

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Speaker 2: doing a variation of a move, maybe taking a move

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Speaker 2: further than what we thought was possible. Maybe you know

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Speaker 2: more quirky or original steps or new styles. So there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of different things you have to be good at,

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Speaker 2: but particularly of course your fitness because these are high

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Speaker 2: intensity rounds. They go for about forty five seconds to

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Speaker 2: a minute. They're not timed because it's about the content

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Speaker 2: that you're putting out there, the quality of the content,

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Speaker 2: and then you have you know, your opponent's round to recover,

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Speaker 2: and then you've got to go again, full speed ahead,

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Speaker 2: and then do that again however many times.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: So the Olympics will start with a group stage and

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Speaker 2: you have to battle everyone in your group.

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Speaker 1: So straight off you've got three battles. Do you know

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Speaker 1: who they are yet? I don't know who they are.

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Speaker 1: But that's also because people are still.

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Speaker 2: Qualifying fair enough, so there's the Olympic qualifier series happening

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Speaker 2: and that the last seven or eight spots are being

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Speaker 2: decided at them. So, yeah, already three battles that I'll have,

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Speaker 2: which is great that I'm getting, you know, three battles

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Speaker 2: off the straight away, two rounds each, and then it'll

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Speaker 2: go into top eight knock out, another two rounds, another

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Speaker 2: two rounds, another three rounds to the final, and all

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Speaker 2: this takes place and I think about four hours, which

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Speaker 2: is going to be five hours, which is going to

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Speaker 2: be pretty intense. Wow, it's yeah, it's going to be

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Speaker 2: pretty grueling.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. Now, just before we go, I just wanted

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Speaker 1: to read a quote that well I want to share

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Speaker 1: with our listeners from you that was recently in The Australian.

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Speaker 1: It said, I think a lot of people dout of

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Speaker 1: my ability to do it and maybe thought I was

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Speaker 1: getting too old to be able to stay on top.

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Speaker 1: But I just kept pushing hard. I want to get

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Speaker 1: better and I want the scene to grow and get better.

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Speaker 1: This is very inspiring, especially when you'll hear your teammate

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Speaker 1: what is sixteen? Yeah? Yeah, I know, I mean, what

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Speaker 1: how how do you cope with that? I mean, I

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Speaker 1: don't want to say an age thing, because I think

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Speaker 1: it's awesome that you are going to the Olympics at

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Speaker 1: thirty six yeah, yeah, yeah, but what drives you do

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Speaker 1: better and show up? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Look, I guess I just try not to think about

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Speaker 2: my age, because as soon as I start to think

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Speaker 2: about my age, I think of it, you know, I

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Speaker 2: start to get in my own head and I start

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Speaker 2: to think, oh, I can't do this, or you know,

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Speaker 2: I'm never going to be as you know, good as

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Speaker 2: these young people or whatever. And it's just like, don't

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Speaker 2: think about it, because I think we're quite obsessed with age,

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Speaker 2: like in our society, and I think, which is why

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Speaker 2: I hate asking this.

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Speaker 1: Question, but I am with you.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I think it's quite unhealthy how obsessed with age

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Speaker 2: we are. And it's like, just put aside whatever you're

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Speaker 2: thinking about what you should be doing at a particular age,

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Speaker 2: or how you know you're too old to be starting

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Speaker 2: something or that, Just put it out the window and

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Speaker 2: just do it. And look, I'm not gonna lie. Of course,

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Speaker 2: it takes me a bit longer to get warmed up

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Speaker 2: than it does Jeff, significantly longer. But luckily they're not

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Speaker 2: evaluating that at the Olympics.

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Speaker 1: So you know, it doesn't matter exactly. Well, all the

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Speaker 1: best and good luck, thank you so much. Well tune

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Speaker 1: in to ray Gun watch her break. I will be

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Speaker 1: what a great sport. Anyway, we'll see if it hangs

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Speaker 1: around for the next Olympics. If you did enjoy this chat,

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Speaker 1: tell us rate and review this episode, or subscribe to

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Speaker 1: this podcast. If you do want to read more about

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Speaker 1: the Olympics, we have a special hub on Body and

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Speaker 1: Soul for Paris, so jump on there and you can

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Speaker 1: get all the news other interviews. You can of course

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Speaker 1: follow us on social media. Grab our print edition which

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Speaker 1: is out you're local paper. Thanks for listening and go

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Speaker 1: Assie