The RMA Podcast. Episode 55. Sliding door moments, Athletics, Olympics and Motherhood. With Genevieve Gregson.

Today on the podcast I am speaking with one of Australia's best Middle Distance Runners, Genevieve Gregson. Genevieve is a 3x Olympic finalist having competed at the 2012 London, 2016 Rio, and (postponed) 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She also competed in both the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, and has been a finalist in 2 World Championships, and holds the Australian record for her chosen event, the 3000m steeplechase.

I speak to Genevieve about her journey from her idyllic childhood, growing up on a farm inland from the Gold Coast to her athletic pursuits and sliding door moments, that led her to compete as an athlete on the world stage, to her newest adventure, motherhood.

Genevieve was a talented runner as a teen, and had a passion for the sport from a very young age, and it was her parents that saw potential in her, encouraging her to take on a scholarship in the USA where she could not only study, but develop her running. Against her desires, Genevieve went, and although it took her a long time to come to terms with her situation far from home, family and friends, it was this opportunity that would lead Genevieve to qualify for her first Olympic Games in London in 2012. Not only that, Genevieve managed her way through controversy to earn her spot on the Olympic team that year, having initially being left off due to qualifying late for her position, and Athletics Australia overturning their decision allowing her to compete, which opened up a whole new world and professional running career spanning over 10 years now where Gen has competed in not only one, but two more Olympic Games.

We discuss what running meant to her and how she managed training and competing at such a high level, and we talk in depth about her recent devastating injury at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she suffered a ruptured Achilles while competing in the final of the 3000m steeplechase. We discuss how this injury devastated her at first, but how she has been able to rehab from her injury reframe what running looks like in her life.

It was this catalyst of events that led Genevieve and her husband Ryan to consider starting their family, and amongst rehabbing from her injury, and surgery, they have welcomed a little boy Archer to the world, and out of all the achievements of her life, Archer would be considered one of her greatest.

We discuss her journey to motherhood, through pregnancy and birth, how Gen is managing her life as a new mum, and her hopes for her future as an athlete while navigating her latest quest, parenthood.

This podcast episode is brought to you by fisiocrem Australia