Whilst in Stockholm I had the absolute pleasure of chewing the fat with one of Australia's most credentialed track and field coaches, Nick Bideau. Not a man unfamiliar with controversy, and certainly armed with a very strong opinion, like him or not, Nick has 3 National record holders in his stable which means my ears were well and truly open. We talked about a number of subjects, but one in particular came to mind as a great discussion topic and one I'd like to share... The developing athlete and what it takes to become 'real' champion.

To be somewhat objective, let's quantify 'champion' into a medal chance at Olympics or World Championships, or even better - top 8 in the world. Ok, so on Aussie soil we are talking about what it takes to be at the current standard of a handful of homegrowns; Hooker, Pearson, Watt, Samuels, Lapeirre. Now I am certainly not at this standard, and none of Nick's current athletes are either, but he has certainly taken a number of athletes to this level and we have both seen it happen over the past years in athletics. No doubt Dr. Brian Roe would have much to say on the topic!!

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