Meeting Australia's Fastest Man !

One of the highlights of my trip back home was meeting Jacob Despard, Australia's Olympic Games 100m qualifier.

We met as we both got off the plane at Hobart airport. He was an absolutely delightful young man. Sprinters tend to be fairly confident people but Jacob was humble, kind and very down to earth.

As we waited for our bags he shared with me a recent disappointment about not being a selected for a representative team despite being the fastest runner in the country for that event.

An all too familiar experience many athletes have faced when selectors choose another despite an athlete producing performances showing you are worthy of selection.

In the moment (and very jet lagged) the best advice I could muster ( not amazing lol ) was that it happens to all of us at some point in our careers and the key to being noticed by selectors is to consistently produce results not just once but over and over again for an extended period. This shows you can reproduce in different environments. That takes time.

We took a quick snap and I wished him all the best for Paris. As with any athlete I meet it was very exciting to meet him!

Now I have someone to cheer on in the mens 100m and you do too :-)

You can follow Jacob @jacobdespard

Coach B