Olympic gold medallists rally to help next generation

Three members of Australia's Sydney 2000 women's water polo gold medal winning team are showing their support to the next generation of athletes as part of an innovative AIS program called Gold Medal Ready.

As one of two goalkeepers in the Australian side, Danielle Woodhouse, along with Olympic teammates Melissa Byram (nee Mills) and Naomi McCarthy continue to give back 19 years after their heroics at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

The AIS has launched Gold Medal Ready in partnership with the Australian Army to assist Australian athletes deliver their best performance under pressure at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and beyond.  

A group of Olympic champions, known as the Gold Medal Alumni, is playing a crucial role in the program by sharing their experiences with athletes and coaches.

The Gold Medal Alumni comprises athletes with a collective 80 Olympic Games appearances and 48 gold medals.

AIS CEO Peter Conde said the incredible show of support from our Olympic gold medallists indicated the special bonds and national spirit sport can provide.

“When we asked for expressions of interest from Olympic gold medallists to help with this program, we were overwhelmed by the supportive responses,” Conde said.

“We now have 29 gold medal-winning athletes and two gold medal-winning coaches on this program, building relationships with current athletes and sharing invaluable experiences about what made them successful.

“The incredible thing about this group of Alumni is that they come from 13 different sports and their athletic careers have spanned Olympic Games from 1988 through to the most recent 2016 Rio Olympics.

"Yet even beyond their athletic careers, they are still proudly representing Australian sport and want to see future generations achieve their ambitions.”

The common motivation among the Alumni is to “give back” to sport and future Olympians.

The AIS launched Gold Medal Ready as an initiative to help emerging athletes familiarise and respond to the pressures of the Olympic environment.

More than 150 athletes and coaches will participate in the program before the 2020 Olympics, including education, skill development, mentoring and specifically designed activities delivered in partnership with the Australian Army’s Special Operations Command.

“This partnership with the Australian Army is also a huge advantage,” Conde said.

“This is not your average boot-camp, it’s about exploring human performance, education opportunities, mentoring, familiarisation techniques and strategies to deal with pressure. It’s a chance to develop our top athletes’ capacity to reach their peak performance and sustain that under Olympic conditions.”