WEBVTT - What does pre-Olympic training involve? High jumper Eleanor Patterson explains

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to Healthy Ish. I am Felicity Harley and

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<v Speaker 1>today you're listening to an extra special episode of the

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<v Speaker 1>Body and Soul podcast. Yes, this week we are celebrating

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<v Speaker 1>our superstar Olympians and joining me on this episode is

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<v Speaker 1>high jumper Eleanor Patterson, who I caught up a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of weeks ago online from Spain. She explained the intricacies

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<v Speaker 1>of her event, her pre Paris training load, and how

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<v Speaker 1>she's approaching the Olympics the third time around. Make sure

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<v Speaker 1>you're listening to extra Healthy Ish, where she talks about

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<v Speaker 1>how she finds extreme focus in the middle of her event.

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<v Speaker 1>You can catch that one wherever you get your podcasts.

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<v Speaker 2>Eleanor. Really nice to have you on the pod. How

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<v Speaker 2>are you.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm wonderful, Thank you, thank you for having me, and.

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<v Speaker 1>I should say congratulations and well done on another Olympics

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<v Speaker 1>and thank you for champione US in Australia at these games.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>No, it's it's super exciting and so any kind of

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<v Speaker 3>ability to hype up the Olympics and even just the

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<v Speaker 3>individual stories around athletes. I'm all about it for sure.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh good, me too, That's why I've got you on.

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<v Speaker 4>But tell me.

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<v Speaker 2>You're a high jumper. What do you love about high jump?

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<v Speaker 4>There's so much to me that I love.

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<v Speaker 3>It's such a strange thing to think that my career

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<v Speaker 3>is running and jumping at a bar and trying to

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<v Speaker 3>clear it and playing this game of chance in a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of ways. But I was always a very hyperactive

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<v Speaker 3>kid in a lot of ways, and I love sport.

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<v Speaker 3>I just love the outlet in which it creates for people,

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<v Speaker 3>the community it creates creates for people, but also for

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<v Speaker 3>me personally, especially as an individual athlete, which just as

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<v Speaker 3>an athlete or you know, as a person that I'm

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<v Speaker 3>able to find this as a hobby as a kid,

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<v Speaker 3>essentially that it was, you know, this challenge but also

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<v Speaker 3>exciting outlet for me to challenge myself in every facet,

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<v Speaker 3>whether that beef is you play emotionally and mentally, and

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<v Speaker 3>so it's that outlet for me, and especially because I'm

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<v Speaker 3>the one out there competing, there's no way to hide

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<v Speaker 3>from whatever's going on inside your head. You've got to

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<v Speaker 3>really back yourself and you've got to run and I

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<v Speaker 3>guess obey a lot of physics to run around a

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<v Speaker 3>curve and see if you can jump over a bar.

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<v Speaker 3>And so it's many, many years of hard work, dedication,

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<v Speaker 3>but at the same time, it's just you know, you've

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<v Speaker 3>got to rock up on the day and be your

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<v Speaker 3>best self and express your best self.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I probably didn't appreciate how much of a

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<v Speaker 1>mental game high jump is as well. I mean, we

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<v Speaker 1>know it's physical, you have to run and jump and

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<v Speaker 1>you want to have power and speed, but the mental

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<v Speaker 1>side of it is I mean every sport is, but

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<v Speaker 1>particularly high jump, because you've got to get yourself over

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<v Speaker 1>the bar.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, yeah, it really is.

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<v Speaker 3>It is very mentally engaging, and you're out there sometimes

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<v Speaker 3>for two hours even more, and you start at a

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<v Speaker 3>low height and you're slowly increasing and you've got to

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<v Speaker 3>be at your best at the end of the competition,

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<v Speaker 3>and you're most mentally engaged, and you know, you might

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<v Speaker 3>have really big jumps early on, but then it's what

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<v Speaker 3>counts at the end as well, and at those final

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<v Speaker 3>moments when you're tussling for a PB or a season's

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<v Speaker 3>best or a medal or a first place.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, god, medal. What does your training involve, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking to your Madrid at the moment. What does

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<v Speaker 1>it evolve leading into Olympics.

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<v Speaker 4>So yeah, it's quite a busy schedule in a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of ways.

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<v Speaker 3>At the moment, I have one last competition about three

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<v Speaker 3>and a half weeks out until the Games right now.

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<v Speaker 3>But I have one last competition this weekend in Germany.

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<v Speaker 3>From then on, it's just a normal programming and just

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<v Speaker 3>training essentially. We're in a phase now where we'll start

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<v Speaker 3>to like it's a competition season, so we're tapering off,

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<v Speaker 3>so like the load is lightning. We as a training group,

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<v Speaker 3>my training group, we tend to do two gym sessions

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<v Speaker 3>a week and two running sessions and one technical session,

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<v Speaker 3>so the technical being jumping or bounding and.

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<v Speaker 4>Things like this.

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<v Speaker 3>But yeah, everything's kind of getting stripped back now. Like

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<v Speaker 3>usually in the gym we lift, being a power event,

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<v Speaker 3>lift quite heavy, but everything's becoming shorter and sharper and

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<v Speaker 3>lighter weights, and so everything's starting to strip the weight

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<v Speaker 3>off as far as like the load that in our

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<v Speaker 3>legs essentially, And so yeah, coming into the Olympics, we're

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<v Speaker 3>stripping that that workload off and so then when we

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<v Speaker 3>can come into the Olympics and I can come into

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<v Speaker 3>the Olympics, I can be at my best and the

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<v Speaker 3>freshest possible and just fly.

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<v Speaker 2>Essentially, they why do you strip the low back?

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<v Speaker 1>Is that just to let your legs kind of I

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<v Speaker 1>suppose breathe, or just to give you your body a

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<v Speaker 1>bit of time to rest.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I guess it's more the rest element.

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<v Speaker 3>There's definitely that sweet spot where you want to be

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<v Speaker 3>able to have a certain weight where it's heavy enough

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<v Speaker 3>to activate yourself. But it's also if you're under too

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<v Speaker 3>much weight and you're lifting weight, or if you're doing

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<v Speaker 3>to a heavy workloads, it's very exhausting on your legs

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<v Speaker 3>and it makes it hard to be springy. Essentially, a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of our event is very much involved in, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the central nervous system and being able to just fire

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<v Speaker 3>and be able to be powerful and springy and really

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<v Speaker 3>alert with our movements.

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<v Speaker 2>So yeah, that explosiveness and the springing. I like that.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I like that word. Now, you've been to two Olympics.

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<v Speaker 1>How are you approaching this one is a bit different?

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<v Speaker 1>Or are you going in with the same a similar mindset?

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<v Speaker 4>Definitely quite different in a lot of ways. I feel

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<v Speaker 4>like I've.

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<v Speaker 3>Been around for a long time. I'm only twenty eight

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<v Speaker 3>right now, which in athletics, terms. Isn't crazy old at all.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not, that's for sure, even though my young training

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<v Speaker 3>partner who's nineteen, she always much around and calls me old.

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<v Speaker 4>But it's just all all fun and game. Not old, No,

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<v Speaker 4>not at all.

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<v Speaker 3>And yeah, being my first one was when I was

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<v Speaker 3>twenty the second when it was when I was twenty

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<v Speaker 3>five in the end in Tokyo, and I feel like

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<v Speaker 3>I've got so much experience coming into this one, that's

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<v Speaker 3>for sure. I know what to expect. I think, especially

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<v Speaker 3>in the last four years, I've been around the circuit

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<v Speaker 3>a lot, especially for athletics in Europe, and the Diamond

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<v Speaker 3>League competitions is where it's where it's at as far

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<v Speaker 3>as like constantly competing against the best.

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<v Speaker 4>In the world.

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<v Speaker 3>And then I've been to many major championships, and so

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<v Speaker 3>I feel like going into this one, it's obviously still

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<v Speaker 3>so exciting and there's a lot of bells and whistles

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<v Speaker 3>and it's just a lot of hype and it's you know,

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<v Speaker 3>it's important to see that, but not besuaded by that.

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<v Speaker 3>And so I feel like having just a number of

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<v Speaker 3>years under my belt as far as this exposure to this,

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<v Speaker 3>it's it feels far more second nature than it did

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<v Speaker 3>when I was twenty, that's for sure, which is obviously given.

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<v Speaker 1>But what are you most excited about when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to Paris is going to Paris Olympics.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh so many things.

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<v Speaker 3>Obviously, you know, competing that's very exciting and just seeing

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<v Speaker 3>you know, there's the epitome of athletics. But I think

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<v Speaker 3>as well, for me, as much as it's you know,

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<v Speaker 3>it's that end game, it's that goal, it's what we

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<v Speaker 3>work towards for every four year cycle or three year

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<v Speaker 3>cycle for this time around. But and it obviously means

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<v Speaker 3>so much, but more often than not, it's about the journey.

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<v Speaker 3>And I also love the periods of time when we're

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<v Speaker 3>in the village and you're hanging out with some of

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<v Speaker 3>your really close friends and you essentially to live in

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<v Speaker 3>each other's pockets, which and then you were able to

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<v Speaker 3>live in the building with everyone in the Australian teainment.

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<v Speaker 3>It's those moments where you're just able to hang out

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<v Speaker 3>and just have breakfast together, enjoy a coffee together. That

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<v Speaker 3>really kind of over my many years in the sport,

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<v Speaker 3>other moments that were really important for me. I think

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<v Speaker 3>another thing that I'm really looking forward to is the

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<v Speaker 3>fact that some of my family are coming across and

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<v Speaker 3>being able to watch me compete, and so that's really

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<v Speaker 3>really exciting for me. It means the world to have

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<v Speaker 3>the support of my loved ones and they've not actually

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<v Speaker 3>been able to watch me compete all that much in

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<v Speaker 3>the last four years, and so it's going to be

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<v Speaker 3>really really special. But I think it's just those moments

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<v Speaker 3>where you share with people that makes everything mean so

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<v Speaker 3>much more.

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<v Speaker 1>I've got one final question that actually comes from my

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<v Speaker 1>ten year old son who's just made the regionals for

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<v Speaker 1>high jump, and here he wants to know, what's your highest

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<v Speaker 1>jump that you've ever done?

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<v Speaker 4>Incredible.

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<v Speaker 3>My highest jump that I've ever done is two meters

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<v Speaker 3>and two centimeters. That's my personal beast and amazing.

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<v Speaker 4>Hopefully that can fall this year.

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<v Speaker 3>I feel like I'm in korey best shape, so who knows,

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<v Speaker 3>but yeah, two meters and two centimeters.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, all the best, and thank you for coming on

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<v Speaker 1>healthish and good luck.

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<v Speaker 4>Thank you very much.

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<v Speaker 3>Good luck for your son at the regionals as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you you like watching high jump I do just

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<v Speaker 1>the competition and the extreme focus is quite amazing and inspiring. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>we do have a special Paris hub on bodyansoul dot

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<v Speaker 1>com dot.

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<v Speaker 2>You, so make sure you jump on there.

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<v Speaker 1>Plenty of interviews and news about our fantastic Olympians. If

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<v Speaker 1>you did enjoy this chat, tell us, rate and review

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<v Speaker 1>well this episode, or you can of course subscribe to

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<v Speaker 1>this podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Make sure you're listening tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>We have got another great Olympian coming up. Are you

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<v Speaker 1>following us on socials? Please do, or you can grab

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<v Speaker 1>our print edition which is out in your local Sunday

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<v Speaker 1>paper and until tomorrow, go Aussie and stay healthy