Eleanor Patterson Interview
It's time to return to High Jumping today as we speak with two-time Australian Olympian Eleanor Patterson about her amazing career in her amazing sport! We find out from Eleanor how a sleepover at a friend's house set her on her career path and just what it was about high jump that sparked her interest. We also learn about some of the challenges growing up in rural Victoria and how they actually helped her further into her career. Added to this we learn more about just why she gave the sport away and what made her come back, as well as what unique method she has to help spur her over the bar in competitions. It's an incredibly fun and insightful chat that you definitely won't want to miss!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast, coming to you again today for another athlete interview episode. Two-time Australian Olympic high jumper, Eleanor Patterson. Very exciting chat, this one. Everyone remembers, of course, the epic high jump event during the Tokyo Olympics. Of course, Nicola McDermott winning the silver. Eleanor finished fifth in that final. An incredible event to watch. And Eleanor gives a great insight into her amazing career, tells a story about how a simple sleepover at a friend's house set her on a career path in the sport of high jump. Also, the challenges of growing up in rural Victoria and how the conditions really helped spur on to future success. And also achieving that success at a very young age. She almost could have made the London Olympics at the mere age of 16, believe it or not. And at the age of right now only 25, she's a two-time Olympian with goals going forwards even further all the way up to 2032. So this is a great chat, very insightful, and I know you're gonna get a lot out of it. Here is our chat with two-time Australian Olympic High Jumper Eleanor Patterson.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's a massive pleasure to be able to welcome our next guest here to Off The Podium, two-time Olympian Commonwealth Games gold medallist, World Youth Championships gold medallist, and our return to the sport of high jump for the first time in some time. We haven't had a high jump athlete on, I think, since before Tokyo. So I'm excited to be able to return to a sport which I'm extremely, extremely fascinated by. It's a pleasure to welcome Eleanor Patterson to the show. Eleanor, first of all, welcome to Off The Podium. It's a pleasure to have you on the show today. It's exciting. I love the sport of high jump because I failed miserably at every sport in my life, including athletics. And I remember trying the high jump in high school, thinking, ah, this is easy. This looks simple, but it really isn't. And it's sort of one of these sports where I kind of look at and go, wow, people who can do this at the level that you're doing at are absolutely incredible. I mean, is this something that when you first started it, that you could have ever imagined that you would be a two-time Olympian in the sport of high jumping?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: The scheme of things, no, I guess, yeah. It's a very strange sport. I have no, I'm not denying that. And yeah, I do admit though, when I first tried Little Ass, on the first day of Little Ass, I'd had high jump. And as soon as I did the high jump, I was like, oh wow, this is amazing. I think I broke the record in the club, which I think at the time was like maybe a metre and three centimetres. And everyone was like, I want to go to the Olympics with this. And so, you know, being, I think eight or nine years old and being young and naive and just thinking that I want to get to the highest level of this. I had hopes and I had dreams, but I didn't know what it actually meant. And somehow I managed to hang on to that idea for many, many years and so here I am, I guess.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, yeah. Now is it true that you only went to Little Athletics because you slept over at a friend's house and basically accompanied her the next day? I mean, if that's true, that's pretty incredible that it wasn't even sort of, it was just, hey, I'll come along with you and boom, here you are.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, it's true. It's true. One of my friends from primary school, she always loved running and we had a sleepover and we just went to the last the next day and yeah, here I am. Rest is history. Yeah, I fell into it, but yeah, loved it from the first moment, I guess.
BEN WATERWORTH: Did she go on to like continue on sort of little athletics or, you know, did she kind of not kind of stick with it, the same level that you did?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: She did, yeah, she did athletics, but didn't quite stick with it throughout till now. But now she has a incredible work life in nursing, and we know how much we are appreciative of the nurses in this day and age. Yeah, but yeah, I guess, yeah, not many people, I guess, are crazy enough to continue with jumping over a bar or running around and trying to call it work.
BEN WATERWORTH: Keep doing that. I can imagine though that does she often have to remind you, like, hey, like you wouldn't even be doing this if it wasn't for me, you're welcome, you know? Like, you're welcome that night, you came and stayed over and came with me the next day. You're completely welcome, Eleanor.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, no, no, she's too loving and caring to be like, you know, this is because of me. But no, no, I'll have to tell her that time, be like, this is, yeah, this is because of you, Rich.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So sort of you mentioned in kind of trying out the high jump. I mean, what sort of were some of the other events that you kind of, when you go there and you kind of, you're falling in love with the sport, you know, where you try much of the track stuff, were there sort of some other field events that you were giving a go as well?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah. So like, doing the last, you were made to do every event. And I loved that. I loved getting a taste of everything. But when it came down to it, and say, for example, you'd go to a regionals competition and you got to enter into four events of your choice. And so I would always pick anything with a jump in it. So high jump, long jump, triple jump and hurdles. So anything that had something a little bit springy to it. And so, yeah, I think from an early age, I just, I was very energetic and I liked to jump and run around. And I guess I was a child who was full of beans. So jumping was certainly my forte.
BEN WATERWORTH: Kind of fit very well. We also sort of sporty and other, you know, did you do any other sports outside of athlete? I'm seeing maybe gymnastics here or something going on secretly, just kind of, you know, with all the jumping or basketball maybe.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Well, to be fair, I did try a lot of sports growing up, but always mostly briefly, maybe like, I mean, I did a fair bit of swimming. Yeah, I did a little bit of gymnastics, but not much in the scheme of things. So I always did netball and athletics. They were my two that I did most of and fell in love with the most. And so it wasn't until I was 14 that I had to decide between which sport to do. And so because I was doing the summer in athletics and the winter in netball. And so it was when I was 14 that I started to get a lot of injuries because I was just doing too much. And so, yeah, here I am. I chose athletics. I still have such a great love for netball. I love watching it. I know that if I played right now, I'd have to strap my ankles and knees and every part of my body a hell of a lot. But just working on a concrete surface or floorboards is just not my kind of vibe. So, yeah, yeah, athletics is where it was at for me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Was some of that down to Olympic aspirations? Obviously netball isn't an Olympic sport. So kind of, you know, you could go to the pinnacle of the Olympic Games, whereas maybe it's obviously only like a Commonwealth Games or a World Championship if you had a pursuit netball.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I could see that athletics could go to the Olympics. And as I said, from a young age, I had this, yeah, this dream and this goal to go to the Olympics. And I just, I thought it was such a wonderful event and so fantastical that I had an obsession, young, quite young. And then I could also see some form of a pathway for my athletics. And so I could see that at the time I had a coach that wanted to take me to that level. And so, yeah. And I worked with that coach for a few years, that's for sure. And went to the 2016 Olympics, but it hasn't been until the last two years that I've worked with Alex Stewart, my current coach. And he has, yeah, got me to this point in returning to this point in the sport, sorry, returning to the sport, and so yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: The thing that I love sort of reading about your journey, too, is sort of being from where you grew up in sort of regional Victoria, is that you spent a lot of your time training on grass tracks and sort of not the real synthetic surfaces that obviously you are competing at, say, an Olympic Games and that. Does that kind of help you on the journey, given that you've kind of got to get used to something a little bit different? And I mean, is it sort of still a preference maybe that if you can sort of run on the grass, you'd maybe prefer that a little bit more than sort of some of the synthetic tracks?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, I guess, yeah, I definitely did just do the journey of my training, growing up in a garage gym and on grass tracks. And so as far as the surface goes, I feel like I'm in a way prepared for anything. I'm not so picky about the athletics track in a way. But I think the bigger point that I can take away from the environment and the things that I grew up with is, because I grew up in the country of Victoria, and it was quite cold and rainy a lot of the time of the years. And so the year, sorry, and I felt like I was prepped and ready for anything we had. I would train in any conditions, whether it was a bit of light new, it was raining, it was windy, windy and everything. So yeah, now when I go to competitions, I know that I have trained and dealt with every situation, whether it's a different surface or different weather conditions. I feel like I can take confidence in that, having different environment and things like that growing up. So yeah, it's very good in my opinion.
BEN WATERWORTH: What's it like then when you get to the age of 13, and you start winning national titles already in the sport? I mean, that must be a pretty, you know, incredible feeling at such a young age to be able to do that. And is it something that in your wildest dreams on that very first day, you know, when you're eight at Little Asset five years later, here you are, a national champion already in the sport beating people, I can imagine, you know, more than twice your age.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, it was pretty amazing, for sure. I'm definitely someone who, especially at that age, I was very quiet and had internally this kind of compass, that was just towards bettering myself. And so I always just kind of took it in my stride and was not showing about it at all or anything, but I was just like, oh, okay, I've done that now, I want to jump this height. Okay, I've done that now, I just really want to jump this height. And so this internal compass towards just, yeah, constantly challenging myself and bettering myself, and it's like, no, I know I can do higher, so yeah, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because it's that mental aspect, I can imagine of high jump, isn't it? Where it's, you know, you're training to constantly increase that height, to clear a bar and kind of go higher and go higher. And it's sort of all the physical training you can do, there's that mental aspect where, as you're saying, you know you can do it, it's just a matter of getting to that point where you can do it.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yes, exactly. Yeah, well, I guess it is an event where you literally have an obstacle in front of you, and you have to mentally and physically overcome that. And so, I believe that you can do that and higher. And so, yeah, I think a lot of it bubbles down to your confidence within yourself and your abilities. And it is an event where you are doing the same run up again and again and again, and trying to nail the jump every time. And so I guess it has that element of repeatability. And so having faith in your ability to, I guess, do the exact same movements over and over again, and slowly clear higher as you go. Such a strange, strange sport. I give it that, so.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is, I mean, I often look at so many of the field events, and it is sometimes a case of, why do you do it? Like, it's kind of like, it's just sort of, you know, I look at so many of these sports. I mean, pole vault, for example. I mean, it's like, who thinks about just running with a giant pole to flip themselves? I mean, it's like, who thinks over that to land on a mat? But I mean, it's some of the most entertaining sports still, though, to watch. Like, when you're watching, I mean, you know, we'll obviously get to Tokyo, but I think every Australian was hooked to watching you and Nicola in that final, and just the excitement that it brings. Like, I mean, it's just, it's so tense and nerve wracking that you just, you're glued to it, aren't you?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%. Even, I mean, the men's high jump is quite different. The women's in that. Obviously, they have quite a different level of strength and power and the way they move and things like this. And so I look at the men's high jump as if I'm looking as any other person just looking onto high jump. And I'm just like, this is just crazy. How do you do this? Yeah, like, you know, yeah, I'm often watching the men's or even the women's as well. Like, ah, sure, you can't jump that. I just running along and then boom, all of a sudden people are over. You're like, what, how does this work? Even myself, I know, I know with internally and visually, I'm quite a visual learner. I know the visualisation and the movement and exactly each step. But still, when I think about and kind of actually look back at the video, I was like, oh, wow, that's so weird. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's everything with the technique too, because it's even kind of like when you watch the history of the sport and kind of, you know, how it started to how sort of you're, you're going over the bar now. I mean, it's just, it's crazy to think that if you were doing this 50, 60 years ago, you're doing it in a complete, it's one of these unique sports where legitimately it is so different throughout history, isn't it?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, it's phenomenal, hey? Very phenomenal, the rich history it has and the development over the years. I look at the images of people doing either the scissor kick or the Western roll where they would end up landing in sand, essentially. And that just freaks me out not having anything to land on. Obviously, yes, they're landing on the feet, but still I would like that it was like land on my feet and then fall straight on my face.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which is not good, I can imagine. Doing long jump or something, maybe, but other way around for sort of that. With sort of that early success at such a young age and you're winning national championships at the age of 13, was London ever on the radar? Was that a possibility or was it kind of not on the radar because of your age or something else?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, I mean, again, being young and naive, I had hopes, but obviously I had a big bridge to gap, that's for sure. And so, yeah, the way Olympics works for us is that qualifying for the Olympics, it's not age-based, but I guess you do have to jump certain heights. And so I think when I was 14, I was jumping 182, which is pretty big for that age, but to qualify, say, for this Olympics, we had to jump 196. And so I guess I had a fair bit to bridge that gap. And I think by the age of 16, I jumped maybe 187. And so I got halfway there, but I would have been 16 for London. And so I just wasn't jumping high enough in the scheme of things. And so, yeah, I was qualifying for world juniors and world youths years before I was allowed to do it, but that is age-based. And I was too young often when I was 14 and 15 and 16 to go to these competitions. And so, yeah, it wasn't until I was 17 that I was able to do my first international competition.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which you won, which isn't a bad way to start, is it not? The world youths championships, they go straight there and win a gold medal. Tell me, what was that experience like going out there to represent your country in first international competition, come home with a gold medal?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, it was pretty amazing, that's for sure. Yeah, I went in number one, and I was obviously over the moon that I managed to win the competition. But yeah, it was a phenomenal experience. Yeah, I have certainly fond memories of that first taste of other athletes from many countries and many different walks of life. And so now having been on, I guess, quite a number of teams and I can't ever help, but I can't ever take for granted the fact that, yeah, that's where it all started. And that even now when I'm competing at the Olympics or at Diamond League competitions, and I see these girls, each competition, yeah, it's phenomenal to be in that position. I feel very fortunate to be able to travel and compete against such phenomenal athletes. And so, yeah. But yeah, Donetsk, Ukraine was where my first world youth was. And it was, yeah, a phenomenal experience, that's for sure. I think we had a few people who became world youth champions, even my roommate, who ended up going to the Olympics this year with me. She was in the javelin, she won and was rooming with me back in the day in 2013 at the world youths. And so we both managed to make it to Tokyo this year. And so even a lot of the athletes that were on that world youth team were at the Olympics this year with me. And so it's phenomenal to go through this process with incredible people, but obviously incredible athletes that we've all stuck with it. And yeah, crazy enough to believe in ourselves and chase after this dream.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which must be then you get that success and then a year later, you go to the Commonwealth Games and obviously win the gold in Glasgow, which I believe you chose over going to defend your title at the world youth championships. I mean, sort of what brought about that decision and kind of, is that often a thing that sometimes in athletics, you kind of have to weigh up sort of, I'm going to go to a world champs versus the Commonwealth Games and kind of weigh out what is maybe more prominent or sort of more realistic, which will help you sort of with your form?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah. So I chose the Commonwealth Games, so the World Juniors, because I mean, I was 18 and I felt that I was ready to compete against the open age. Obviously, yes, it's Commonwealth, so it's not every country and things like that. And Commonwealth can be of a high standard, but as it is, the Europeans is where a lot of our depth and high jump is typically. However, yeah, I was ready to compete internationally in an open age event. And so that was why I chose Commonwealth Games over World Juniors. I felt like I wanted to get a taste of what it was like before the coming years or the years following that was World Champs and Olympics. I wanted to kind of get some experience under my belt.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I think for Australian athletes, you know, growing up watching things like the Commonwealth Games and that, you sort of always hold it, I think, to a high standard anyway, don't you? Because it's sort of behind an Olympics or behind a World Championships, it's probably up there as sort of the next one. And I can imagine that, say, had you not gone to those Commonwealth Games and maybe focus on sort of Gold Coast, which ultimately obviously, you know, didn't go to. But it sort of is something you'd probably want to have on your bucket list, right? Like, hypothetically, you'd never been to a Commonwealth Games now. You would be looking ahead to Birmingham and say, hey, look, I've been to two Olympics. Let's take Commonwealth Games off to try and include it on the bucket list.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yes, yes, no, certainly Commonwealth Games, especially for Australians, it had such a special history and a special place in our heart. And I know for myself, it does. Yeah. And when I say it's to a slightly different standards, just because given that, say, this year, the top six at Tokyo were two Ukrainians, one Russian, and two Australians, and the top five. And so it does often tend to be, you know, the big names in the sport are Ukrainian and Russian and things like this. And so, but that's not to say that there are phenomenal athletes in the Commonwealth, given that, I mean, I'll be competing against Nicola, and she, as we do know, is a phenomenal athlete. And so, and there's the British and a few others that, yeah, a very high standard performers and jumpers. And so, yeah, and I think it just has such a phenomenal place in Australian's hearts, that's for sure. I know that I loved my experience at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. I'm not going to lie, I did really, really enjoy meeting some of the netballers and being able to see some of those girls. And again, big fan of netball, but yeah, and obviously, I thought it was so sadly, I missed out on the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but that would have been a phenomenal experience, given it's a home crowd. And that's just a big crowd. It's a little bit of a foreign experience for Australian athletics. We get some crowd, but nothing in comparison to what that would have been. And also what is the crowd and you know, situation with fans and things like this in Europe. And so, yeah, it definitely holds a special place.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you've got 11 years to kind of just stay on form to Brisbane 2032 to experience that, right? So, oh, yes.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: It's very tempting.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was going to say, is it seriously something you could strive for? Like, is that something that realistically for say a high jumper that you can still be jumping at that age?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yes. Yeah, it definitely can be. And when it was announced, I was like, well, okay, that's me done. My plan is set. I know that life does throw different things in your path, but I would absolutely love to go to the 2032 Olympics. Again, yeah, that home crowd experience. And we know how Australians get behind sport, and it would be phenomenal. And so even just having an Olympics is something to finish on. And so I think that would be my fifth Olympics. And so I wouldn't be mad about that at all.
BEN WATERWORTH: We had Matt Denny on recently, and he said he set a goal of five Olympics, and it just so happens that that fifth Olympics will be Brisbane. So I mean, kind of, it's kind of like you got this whole team going there with the athletics crew that they kind of maybe just all get behind it, right?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm the same age as Matt, actually. He was one of the guys who went to the World Youths with me, and so has been at the Olympics with me and things like this. And so it's pretty cool to see. And so, yeah, similar boat. I would love to be able to do 2032 Olympics and finish there. And historically, people can do high jump to... I mean, I'll be 36 at the time, and you can do that. Say, for example, in Rio 2016, the winner, she was 37, I believe, at the time. And so... and had retired, I think, twice, but came back.
BEN WATERWORTH: So you can give it up for a couple of years, come back again, like, you know, you've got a few years, you can do some things.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, I've already quit the sport once, so I've got room for another one.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly, you know.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: But no.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just keep coming back, you know, why not? John Farnham of high jump. Always retire and come back. Before your first Olympics in Rio, the World Champs in 2015, you created a bit of history, became the first Australian female in 24 years to make final of the World Championships. You finished eighth. I mean, kind of, is that something that, you know, after the success, you had the World Youth, the Commonwealth Games, you've got this top eight finish kind of leading into your debut Olympics. I mean, I can imagine that kind of gives you a bit of a, you know, a bit of momentum kind of going into what would ultimately be your first Olympic campaign.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, and especially I think that 2016, I didn't jump as high as I would have liked to place eighth, but I knew there was certainly more within me. And so, yeah, I definitely, I definitely put pressure on myself, but I was also probably putting or feeling a lot of pressure coming into 2016. I evidently didn't handle it. I just don't think I was a solid enough jumper. There was a few things that I wanted to change in life, but I wasn't prepped and ready to. And so, yeah, unfortunately, I didn't do well at 2016 Olympics at all. I think I placed 22nd and didn't make it out of the qualifying. And so it's huge lessons learnt, though. Yeah, I was only 20 at the time, and yeah, I was very young and naive. And so, yeah, it was an experience that I definitely tucked under my belt. And it took me a long while to kind of process it all. I'm not going to lie. It was, you know, again, like I've been ticking all these boxes leading into it and then to completely flip that around. And I mean, I know it's, you know, often your own self-talk, but, you know, I didn't feel like I performed. But, yeah, and so, yeah, it took me quite a few years. And finally deciding I needed to change a few things that I, you know, found my love and appreciation and confidence within myself, but also for the sport. And so, yeah, that was definitely one of the moments in life where I'm like, okay, just, yeah, you have to take that undue belt and, yeah, and experience in half, that's for sure. It's never easy to kind of compete on the big stage. And so I really came to appreciate those athletes that have performed and performed incredibly. And yeah, it's such a crazy world and experience in Olympic Games.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you at least take those opportunities in throughout what you're saying to, I guess, really soak up what it means to be an Olympian? You mentioned before about that desire to go to an Olympic Games. I mean, you know, everything we like hearing about from the athletes, you know, things from the village, you know, if you get to do the opening ceremony, kind of just rubbing shoulders with the best athletes in the world. And obviously for Rio, you probably got to do a little bit more of that than you did in Tokyo. So it's kind of, you know, do you sort of soak up those moments? Or was it more of a Tokyo thing that you kind of took note of it more the second time around?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, well, I guess so in Rio, I was only allowed to be in a village, I think, for like five days because it all, you know, I was late in the program and you got to kind of, it's all based on like freeing up beds and say, and what's available in the Aus HQ. And so I actually ended up being in the village in Tokyo for two weeks. And so I felt like I got a lot more of a taste of an Olympic village, even though, yes, there was some peculiarities about it in that, you know, wearing masks all the time, which I'm very used to now. That's no issue.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think we all are, yeah.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. And so, and even like, you know, the food hall was such a, yeah, very strange experience. But yeah, for Novel, at the same time, you know, we were just, you know, wearing gloves and there was the kind of cubicles and like, yeah, I think it was like, yeah, like a fibreglass, something like a plastic and dividers between everyone. And so you would sit there and be able to see each other, but you couldn't hear anyone. And so it was just quite entertaining to kind of try, you know, everyone loves to kind of sit around the table and eat and talk away, but no one could talk really. So everyone would just be like looking at each other reading. So it was quite entertaining sometimes. And then, yeah, yeah, it was especially given the others, the COVID element, but an Olympic village. And I guess the hustle and bustle that's involved in the Olympics, it's such an otherworldly thing in a way that, I mean, I was there for two weeks and I got well adjusted to it and life there, even as far as the transport around the village and going to training and just jumping on a bus and, yeah, all the protocols of daily testing, yes, the COVID and things like this. Such a strange thing to be taking in your stride and seeing as normal everyday life. But I knew that every day I was like, this is very cool. I'm very lucky to be in this situation. Obviously, even given the pandemic, it was just pretty crazy to be in that situation. Yeah, and having it go forth. And that's the thing as well, given that it had been postponed the year before and already there's a four-year buildup of excitement and anticipation for an Olympics. But to have that extra year filled with angst about, will it go forward? Every conversation I'd have with people is, do you think it will? Do you think it won't? What will happen if it doesn't? And even in the first place, processing that it had been postponed. Obviously, it's not the end of the world in no scheme of the world, indeed. But it's what we, as athletes, especially in the athletics, we tend to walk towards. And so, yeah, it really created this special moment of, wow, there's been a big, big build up to this. And so it really felt extra special to be there and be like, this is actually happening.
BEN WATERWORTH: What?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: No, it's not. Yeah, and obviously, yes, as we see in the world, and yeah, in Australia, there's still COVID present. And so it felt very strange that, yeah, we were there and we're getting amongst them, and we're competing and training and getting ready to compete at the Olympic stage, which was phenomenal, phenomenal opportunity, that's for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: And did that sort of delay end up helping you more so, given that, as you sort of alluded to before, you had given away the sport sort of 2018, sort of only came back to it in late 2019? I mean, how do you think things would have panned out differently had they gone as scheduled, would you have been jumping as well as you were? Different sort of, you know, how do you look back on that period?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, truth be told, it's really hard to say, because I mean, I had played four competitions, I think it was, in early 2020, before everything changed. So yeah, in January and February, I competed, and I got my Olympic qualifiers, then I was jumping 196. I got a PB and I jumped 199. And that was...
BEN WATERWORTH: A national record, if I'm not mistaken.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, at that time, yeah, it was, yeah. And so... Yeah, that was my first PB in seven years. And so I felt like I was really prepped and ready, and I would have thought that it was only a matter of time before I jumped two metres. But yeah, of course, there was the pandemic that hit and changed, and myself and the crew that I trained with and my coach would decide to continue training. And then as it worked out, I don't know whether this was just my timing or whether it was because of different changes in surface, but I ended up getting a stress fracture in my right foot. And so that was, I think, like 12 weeks in a boot, at least six to eight of those were on crutches as well as the boot. And so that took a long process to rehab and to be able to run again. So that was a lot of my 2020, which was just hobbling around. And so in that instance, when I would have come around to Tokyo, had it gone ahead when it was meant to, I would have been not able to compete, even my fracture in my foot. And so, I mean, and that could have been because of the change in surface, but because we had to train, not at the track, but that could have also, as I said, could have been my time, and it could have prevented me from competing, and that would have been heartbreaking. And I've seen many people miss Olympic Games and big events because of injuries. And yeah, it's heartbreaking, no doubt. And then, yeah, I did end up getting another fracture in my foot on the other leg. That was in February of this year. So, yeah, February until probably April, I was on and off being able to try and run, you know, trying to rehab it. It was a stress hotspot in a very awkward spot. And so it was really hard to kind of know when it was okay. And so, yeah, I've hardly over the last 18 months to be here. I didn't really high jump a huge amount. So I kind of decided to, yeah, I missed all the domestic season in the start of 2021. With all these injuries. And so, yeah, somehow, somehow I managed to piece together something to get to Tokyo, which was I'm very thankful that we were able to head overseas to Europe. And I started competing in June. I knew that to go to Europe is what I needed to kind of throw myself in the deep end and really challenge myself at these competitions. And apart from Olympic Games, you know, going on the European tour is where our competition is. As far as, you know, there's the fans, there's a bit more money to be made, and also there's just a high, high level of competition. And that's what I needed, the high level of competition to really push me. And so, yeah, I really threw myself in the deep end of not much high jumping under my belt. I was fit, I was strong, but yeah, as I said earlier, I think high jumping is such a funny sport of repeatability, and I had no repeatability under me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Maybe that's a secret. Maybe you need to stop doing the repeatability, and then that helps you out in the long term. If you're at the Olympics, why not?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Exactly, exactly, exactly. And so, yeah, I think this Olympics was even more special because, I mean, two to three months earlier, I didn't think I'd be there. I didn't think I'd be physically ready. I didn't know when my foot would be right, and things like this. And so, yeah, it was, I guess, it worked in my favour in a way that it had been delayed in the year, given all the injuries that I was experiencing. But, yeah, yeah, definitely. It gave me time to overcome all those things.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. And during that period when you had given away the sport, I mean, what did you do? Were you contemplating something else? Like, were you contemplating something else athletically, going back to netball, something like that? Were you sort of pursuing sort of academic career? Like, kind of, what was it? And then what got you back into the sport?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, so, yeah, after I didn't make the team in 2018, along with that and a few other things, I stepped away from the sport. I wasn't working with my previous coach. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And so I just tried to kind of, I guess, find myself in a way. And so, I mean, obviously, I couldn't just sit idly by and just ponder things. I had to get working to kind of make my way and pay my way in life as well. And so I was working in a primary school as an education support officer. So a teacher's aid. And I loved that work. I loved that job. It was a phenomenal school. And it was in my hometown, well, a neighbouring town. So in the home community. And it was pretty much the same primary school. So it's like a sister school to the primary school I went to. And so a lot of these kids were going through this childhood that's like, this is pretty much my childhood. This is so beautiful to watch. And I'm there as an adult helping everyone out. And yeah, I really, really enjoyed that work. And so I would help a lot of different children with different needs and things like that. And so I loved it. But I knew I wasn't quite finished with athletics. And so it wasn't until 2019, like April or something like this, that I got in contact and went up to Sydney to start working with Alex. I always knew that pretty much the only approach that I would want to work with in Australia or I felt that was someone I could work with and kind of excited me to work alongside was Alex. And obviously at that time, he still is working with Brandon Stark. And so that obviously, seeing that there's a high standard of the environment and the sporting environment, also training and the results that he's been able to produce. And so, yeah, I went up to Sydney. I was like, I'm someone who overthinks things and I was filled with fear. And I was like, no, I won't like it. No, this is just too scary. It's too much of a change, all these things going through my mind. And then as soon as I went up there for, I think, a weekend and I was like, I'll just give it a go. I've already said that I will. I'll give it a go. And so I came into training and joined in with training. And I loved it. I loved it. And I was like, yep, this is me. This is where I'm going. And so I think starting afresh like that in a new city, yeah, with a new coach, with completely different methodology and even him as a person to what I'd ever experienced within a coaching environment. It was just such a phenomenal way to kind of refresh my mind in regards to athletics. I had to be told a bit of taste in my mouth about athletics. I had kind of not enjoyed my last few years of athletics before, rejoining, I guess, with Alex. And so, yeah, those years of things going on that I felt, I wasn't happy with the way I was operating with my previous coach. And I also just was not processing well, still, not making teams or the level I was jumping at. And I just, yeah, I was just struggling. And so, yeah, that's why I stepped away. And I couldn't continue the way I was. And so it wasn't until, yeah, I moved to Sydney. Complete life change up. And yeah, it really kind of changed a lot of things, you know.
BEN WATERWORTH: Sometimes I think that way, don't you? It's just like a Ctrl-Alt-Delete, almost like a reboot. And then all of a sudden, there you go.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: It really was. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's like call up tech support. Have you tried Ctrl-Alt-Delete? Boom, done, reset, you're back on track.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, exactly. That's exactly what happened. And so, yeah, yeah, and I was like every day, still to this day, I'm still learning every day, because it's completely different, as I said. And so, yeah, yeah. And then, yeah, I am, as I said, someone who has this internal compass to constantly challenge myself. And so, especially training alongside men who are of a very high standard. There's Brandon, there's the Italian Marco, and often there's a few of the athletes, too, that do more of the horizontal jumps, some triple jumpers and long jumpers and sprinters and things like this that I train alongside. And one, they're just phenomenal people that I train alongside, but also two, they're such high standards, especially that I also train with the men. And so they would do things, I'm like, okay, I'm going to be able to do it, too. I'm going to challenge myself.
BEN WATERWORTH: You're going to do it exactly that way as well.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, and so, yeah, they certainly pushed me, and Alex certainly pushed me. And yeah, it was a phenomenal way to just kind of throw myself in the deep end and just, yeah, really go after it. And so, yeah, when I first started with Alex, I was like, you know, maybe I might be able to get okay-ish to be able to maybe see if I could go to the Olympics. I'm not sure, I didn't think at the same time. But Alex, the first time I came, pretty much, he's like, we're going to go to the Olympics. I was like, okay, cool. And so he definitely reminded me a few times afterwards. He's like, I told you so. Let's make it to three more now.
BEN WATERWORTH: Brisbane 2032, sounds really good. Do you have, sort of, with that training, whether it be through Alex or sort of the people you mentioned training, outside of the physical things, do you have, like, a mental activity that kind of helps you with your jumping? I mean, obviously, famously, we're watching Nicola writing in a book and kind of all that sort of stuff, writing things like that, which I'm sure helps her in her own way. But do you have something that kind of helps you beat in a competition or the lead up to a competition for the mental side of things?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I do. I do have a few kind of habits that I like to do that kind of switch me into gear and things like this. I meditate, and I also visualise my jumps and things like this. I'm very much of a visual learner and an operator. And so, yeah, I visualise being able to jump, clear these heights and handling any situation, whether it's on a third attempt clearance or, you know, different environmental factors or someone trying to get in your way. Like you try and kind of visualise and practise that anything could happen in any scenario that may happen. And so I do that as more as my kind of mental game, I guess. And so, yeah, yeah, definitely is a big mental factor that comes into play. Everyone there is a phenomenal athlete, everyone's worked hard and everyone deserves to be there, but it just bubbles down to, yeah, partially the technical model, but also, yeah, a big, big part of it is someone's belief in themselves. And so, yeah, it's a big factor that I work on a lot.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you ever talk to the bar? Do you ever be like, hey, like you, like, this is you and me right now, and I'm going to clear you, like, this is, I've had enough with you, you know, fucking me around right now, this is going to happen. I mean, is it kind of, yeah, do you get sort of pumped up and look at that thing and hate it when you want to clear it?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yes, yes, definitely. Actually, there's probably the only thing that I tend to say, especially if I'm on a third attempt to clear it or things like this, or if I'm at training and I frustratingly can't clear a heart, and the only thing that I've tended to say to myself is, or say to the bar is, you're my bitch bar. Suddenly you're like, I'm going to clear you.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like that. I'm never going to watch High Jump the same now all of a sudden. It's like, you're my bitch bar.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: You know what's going through.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now I know what Nicola's writing in that diary. You're my bitch bar.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I think Nicola's maybe saying things a little bit nicer. She's an angel. But yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like it. That works. You could have so much. You could have merchandise for that, Eleanor. Like t-shirts, High Jump. Like a YouTube channel podcast. Welcome to You're My Bitch Bar. I'm seeing merchandise opportunities here. It's great.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I'll have to get onto it. I'll have to sign you into the contract because you're the idea.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'll be your manager. I'll help out with the marketing side of things. Sounds good. We'll get that on the way up there. Going into Tokyo, did you set yourself a goal? Was it realistically, I want to leave with a medal, make the final, jump your best? What was your mentality going into what you wanted to achieve, leaving your second Olympics?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, I guess I had different steps in my goal. I definitely, definitely wanted to make the final. Given that I hadn't made it the last time, I know I'm a much better athlete and in a far better condition to be jumping that and making it into the final. So I got that done. And then I really wanted to jump a season's best or hopefully a PB. So I did probably five or six competitions leading into Tokyo. And I think the last three leading into Tokyo, I jumped 196 every time. And I have jumped 196 so many times, which fantastic height. It's good. I'm not knocking that, that's for sure. But I just kept on jumping 96 and just missing the next time. And so again, I did that at the Olympics, unfortunately. But one of my goals, unfortunately, I didn't quite meet was to jump the season's best or hopefully a PB. And so again, just missed my 198 attempts. So I was very close. But nonetheless, in the scheme of things, yeah. Yeah, so I mean, I really wanted to jump. I just really wanted to jump big and whatever came with that, whether that was on the podium and things like that, I would have been absolutely thrilled with. And so again, I jumped that 96. And so I guess, I mean, I can't help but be pretty proud of myself.
BEN WATERWORTH: I reckon Fisset and Olympics is pretty darn good as well.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, exactly. And exactly. And as I said earlier with the, you know, I didn't come in with a huge amount of training as far as high jumping. So I felt like I didn't have repeatability. But then I kind of really proved to myself that I do have repeatability, is that I jump on I6 all the time.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, you've seen those three numbers together. I see you were born though, 96? Is it kind of like poignant in some weird way?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: It is, it is. It must be, it must be. But yeah, I mean, I can't knock it at all. I'm pretty proud of myself. And so, yeah, I did, I didn't go in thinking I didn't have repeatability. And then that's exactly what I proved over the season, that I do have some form of repeatability, which is something that's very important as a high jumper, I believe.
BEN WATERWORTH: The thing I think I found about all the field events in Tokyo from an Australian perspective, I don't really know if there had been that much excitement since Sydney. I mean, you know, you would have been, what, four in Sydney, so I don't know if you would remember it. But I mean, many Australians would remember, you know, Tatiana Gugoriava, you know, Jaya Tarima, kind of the excitement around the field events that came from Sydney. And I really can't remember in the subsequent Games excitement, because, you know, it all started, obviously, we mentioned Matt, like Brandon as well, finishing fifth. We had, you know, what's happening in the Javelin, and then ultimately what happened with you and Nicola. I mean, it was just, it was so exciting from an Australian perspective to watch the field. And what I've spoken to with all our athletics guests is, I just, I love that kind of pride that everyone in the team holds. While the swimmers, you know, they did fantastically, but generally if they walk away with two gold, it's kind of, oh, it's a bit disappointing they only got two gold. Whereas the athletics team, you're getting forced, you're getting fisted, and that's almost as good as winning gold. It's kind of that sense of pride. I mean, what was it like when you got to your final and kind of the results that were coming from the Australian team and sort of that just sense of pride that the team must have had around the entire competition?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, it was so phenomenal, that's for sure. Because, yeah, I was very late in the program. And so I was biding my time nicely and watching everyone and just cheering on the team. I did go just once to go watch Brandon compete. But even just sitting back at the village and watching on TV and seeing how everyone, whether they were with athletics or not, just getting behind the athletics and just absolutely loving every minute of it. I mean, I'm a little bit biased as far as the field events go. Of course. It's always been pretty strong, but I feel like this year it has just a touch more depth than, say, for example, there was two high jumpers in the final. We've never had, I don't think we ever had, had three people in the Javelin final. And things like this that is just phenomenal. And so, yeah, it really does that kind of, yeah, I have no doubt. It was phenomenal to watch for me as well. It was, yeah, it was pretty cool, pretty epic. And because obviously, yes, we were all people just personally, but even I think of this year's Australians is that we do have a kind of a healthy rivalry, but at the same time, such respect for each other. And so even between Iker and I, like, I think she's a phenomenal person and athlete. Obviously, when we go out there, we're just like, oh, yeah, just give it a crack. And we're there for each other, but at the same time, we are competitors. And so, yeah, yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty fantastic. It's like it's pretty epic to see people in the green and gold in so many events. Yeah, it was amazing. It was amazing. And even just sitting back each night, whether that was field or track, that there was just people in the green and gold, there was just athletes from Australia. And each and every event, pretty much it was just every night was stacked. It was like, oh, who's on this night? It's like, oh, my God, there's just countless number of people in each night and moving on to finals and things like this.
BEN WATERWORTH: It was just I don't I mean, even going back to what I was saying about sort of sitting with the field events, just athletes in general, because I mean, generally sort of you go into an Olympics and there's one or two chances, you know, pick up a sneaky bronze here or there, a silver and that sort of stuff. But again, it's not even always about the results. I mean, you look at the decathlon. I mean, obviously, we all remember Ash kind of, you know, getting the bronze, but then it's all about Cedric and kind of what he did there and sort of, you know, just all the other performances, you know, Rowan's, you know, making the semis and just kind of things like that. It's just it's that's what that's what I always love about the Olympics. It's it's great to talk about the success. It's great to talk about the medals. Of course, that's fantastic. But outside of that, like I guarantee you, we're going to remember Cedric's feats more so than some of our gold medallists from these games in 10 years time, aren't we?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: 100% Yeah. Yeah. This is stories and sporting moments and moments of just humanity. I guess it was just phenomenal to see. That's for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Moments like Cedric and cheering him on was very special to watch. And just I can't help but get goosebumps every time I think about these kinds of things.
BEN WATERWORTH: Absolutely incredible. Yeah. Yeah. Which also too, like back to sort of what you're talking about with Nicola, like you've gone out there, you've put your all on the mat. You've come away with fifth in an Olympics, which again is phenomenal. And then to kind of have a rival but a teammate walk away with a silver medal too. I mean, the celebration is pretty good that night. Kind of, you know, sort of fifth and second, I can imagine that, you know, the high jump crew are pretty out in the town that night.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: No, no, no, actually, no, because like Nicola had to do, well, we all had to do drug testing. I think top six would do drug testing. And because I'd finished a little bit earlier, I was sitting out in the field and just chugging water so I could get it over and done with quickly. But obviously, yeah, because you end up quite dehydrated, especially in Tokyo and being out there for two to three hours. And so I think Nicola was just sitting at the stadium for a few hours trying to do a drug test. And also, I mean, especially, yeah, no, we were just, it was more, yeah, not so wild as people may think, but just, yeah, enjoying the moment of what it was.
BEN WATERWORTH: Quite reflections, you can kind of have those moments sort of.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
BEN WATERWORTH: Celebrate doing the drug test straight away rather than being awkwardly stared at by somebody for a while with all that water in your system. Yeah, I can imagine. So kind of, you take that performance now from Tokyo, you obviously just competed again in the Diamond League sort of straight after, which I'm so fascinated by the fact that kind of, you don't get a rate, you're just straight continuing on the competition, but sort of looking ahead now, obviously we've talked about sort of future Olympic endeavours, but do you look towards 2022? Do you focus on the world chance? Do you focus on kind of going back to the comm games and trying to get that gold back that you got in Glasgow? I mean, kind of what is that sort of plan that you look forward towards now?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: At this point, we may as well have the world indoors in March time. And so that is the first thing that maybe are on the cards. But yeah, as far as like majors at the end of the year, we may get a world chance first, and that is the big one, really. And then I think five days, five days to a week later, there's comm games, and so we'll just roll on.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's insane. I mean, as a high jumper, is it like some other sort of athletic events where you've kind of got to pick and choose to peak, or is it sort of so like I can just go and five days later I'll be right to go for another competition?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, you should be fine. We should be fine. It doesn't really help that you travel a lot. In a month's time, it doesn't really make you as fresh as you could be. But nonetheless, we would have, after World Champs, there's a lot of competitions in Europe, so we would have gone back to Europe anyway, or the UK. And so, yeah, it's just another competition. And it does obviously have a little bit more of a special meaning in a way because it is a combo of games. But yeah, we'll have a big year, a big year. I'm really excited. I'm on holidays at the moment, but I know once we get back into training, I already am keen to just get working really in a way because I know that, yeah, I just really want to get a consistent year of training under my belt and so to really see what I can produce. Because obviously, I didn't have that to its fullest extent leading into Tokyo. And so I know that with a little bit more training and a little bit more work into my legs that I can, yeah, I'm really excited to see what I can produce.
BEN WATERWORTH: And does it make much of a difference that it's only three years to the next Olympics? Obviously, the calendar gets a little bit tighter, I can imagine, but is it sort of positive, negative? I mean, you can build on the momentum a little bit more because it's actually closer than four years?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, I think we can build on the momentum, I agree with that. Yeah, it's a quick turnaround, but it's exciting. I feel like I've only just got started with my career again, and so I just want to go, go, go, and the more comps, the better. So yeah, to be really excited, and the next three years will tick by very quickly. And so yeah, it will be quite jam packed indeed. As I said, even given next year, we have comp games and World Champs, and well, within a two week bracket, the whole entirety of it. And so that's unheard of. Usually we just have one major a year. And so yeah, it's going to be amazing. It's going to be amazing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which going back to that point about sort of going to it, I mean, it's just, it's insane, Eleanor, to think just how young you are. You can be a three-time Olympian at 28. I mean, that's just, that's insane to think that. I mean, God, I'm 34, and I've never made the Olympics once. I mean, you can be a four-time Olympian by the time you're even at my age right now. You're kicking ass. You must- Yeah, I know, right? Jesus, come on, think of the podcast host. I mean, do you kind of just sometimes have to reflect on that and think back to those early dreams of making an Olympics that you've achieved now. Even right now, if you gave up the sport right now, you're always an Olympian, a two-time Olympian. I mean, just the things that you could have achieved at such a young age and still can achieve moving forward.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, yeah, no, definitely, definitely. It's definitely very important to take those moments to really appreciate where you are, where you're at, because otherwise, you know, what's it all for, really? Yeah. No, I am very proud of what I've been able to do. And as much as oftentimes, I mean, athletes tend to have a mindset of go, go, go and continue pushing themselves and wanting more and things like this, but I think it's definitely key as anyone, any person in life, to kind of take a moment and sit in the moment, sit in here and now and be like, okay, cool. This is where I'm at, and this is, I'm very lucky, I'm blessed to be here.
BEN WATERWORTH: Having a nice holiday in Italy, too. Just kind of, you can't, but whereabouts in Italy and does it live up to stereotypes that you just, you know, drinking oodles of wine and eating lots of pasta, basically?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: It lives up to every stereotype, it's amazing. So I'm close to the French border. A province called Viguria, a beach town, so.
BEN WATERWORTH: Nice. Making a lot of people listening very, very jealous and kind of, are you allowed to leave the house? Can you go to the beach or are you locked down or, you know?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, no, we're allowed to move around, which is good. I think we could just wear masks indoors is the kind of ruling at the moment. I'd say, yeah, no, I'm very lucky that I'm able to, yeah, sit in the one spot for a moment and, yeah, take in my surroundings. Yeah, I'm very lucky here.
BEN WATERWORTH: Perfect. Again, I just, it's a great lifestyle. I'm very jealous. But before we sort of wrap it up, Eleanor, with a series of kind of just fun, get to know your questions, one thing I need to ask you about, I believe your nickname is Floss. It is, yeah. How did this come about? I'd like to know the story behind this.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I had fairy floss-like hair as a child. It was very, very blonde, very bleach blonde, and just a big afro, really. And so it looked like fairy floss. And so I was called Fairy Floss. And then it went naturally quite straight, and so I became Floss. Easy, simple.
BEN WATERWORTH: Did not feel like the dance move going on that you were kind of prominent for.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I would like to think that it was inspired on me, maybe.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, well, of course, always. That's how it works, definitely. Now, we close out every interview with a series of, as I said, fun, get to know your questions. And as always, these are based off a questionnaire that Team Canada gave their athletes ahead of Rio and Pyeongchang. We always like to get an athlete from the Canadian website, you know, same sport. Fortunately, no high jumper was quizzed, but the closest I've got is a javelin thrower. So we're going with Liz Gledal. I think we've used Liz a few times for our field athletes. So we'll try this. And again, there's always a drawing element. If you feel the need, you want to add some homework to the interview, you're welcome to add them. It's not compulsory, but we can share on the site. We've had a couple of bobsledders do it. So, you know, if you want to represent the summer sports, the first one here is draw a picture of yourself. So, I don't know if you are, how skilled you are at the artistic side of life. So, you never know if you feel that, if you feel the urge, Eleanor, feel free to send it through. Your favourite, and you're allowed to answer your own, your favourite ever Olympic moment is?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Oh, that's a big one. Especially because there's just so much in my face, you know, the last Olympics. Oh, no, I can't go past Cathy Freeman's 400m. I often go back onto YouTube and watch that, and every time it just gives me goosebumps and makes me want to cry.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, absolutely.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Cathy Freeman, phenomenal, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which, going back to what I was saying about the field events, that was Tatiana's night as well. So, I mean, I remember being glued to the TV, watching Tatiana and Cathy on that same night. Like, I can imagine what it would have been like being in that stadium. That was, yeah, an incredible night. If you could choose any Olympic host city, where would it be?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Oh, maybe 2032, Brisbane.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, that works.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, I'm definitely keen for Australia.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great time to work towards, isn't it, when you kind of know you've got a home Olympics, right?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, especially Queensland. You know, it's going to be hot and beautiful then.
BEN WATERWORTH: And our first Winter Olympics, Australia's first ever Winter Olympics. We're going to keep advertising it that way. Push it forward. In your spare time, what do you most like to do?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I like to read a lot. I like to cook and things like this.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great. Is it reading cookbooks?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: No, I'm not very good at following recipes. I get annoyed at being told what to do pretty much.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, on that note, what is the weirdest instruction a coach has ever given you?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I think in athletics, sometimes you have to just do random exercises. Weirdest instruction. I think even just, at the end of the season, Alex would tell you, just go have fun, something like this, which is obviously, you might have two or three weeks off of the year. So every other day of the year, it's like very much comments that are more orientated to kind of athletic performance and things like this. And so to have the opposite of go have fun, which is Alex's methodology too.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, it seems to work again. The results speak for itself. Your favourite workout is?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Oh, high jumping. Well, yeah, I was going through my mind of like preseason and like different circuits. It's like, no, that's not that's not fun. And then I like I like gym as well. I like lifting weights. So yeah, high jumping. It's always fun. Jumping things.
BEN WATERWORTH: Jumping.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Some kind of climatrix.
BEN WATERWORTH: Always jumping. If you could if you could have lunch with any one person, who would it be?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Oh, that's a good question. Again, having spoken about athletics a little bit at the moment, I am thinking towards athletic people. I love Alison Felix. I don't know if you know her. I love Alison Felix, just absolute queens like that. Phenomenal women and athletes. That would be fun.
BEN WATERWORTH: Get her to bring the bling.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, especially make her come in a Met Gala outfit that she was wearing last night.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly. She might get you a free lunch out of that.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Okay.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, perks of it. She'd have to pick up the bill, come on. Really?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I'd be happy to.
BEN WATERWORTH: There you go. She's listening. I'm sure she's a big listener to the show. Your favourite sandwich is?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Ooh. Ooh. I don't eat sandwiches much, but I don't know. I'm in the mindset I can eat whatever I want now.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: However, I don't eat, I can't eat gluten or dairy, because that kind of ruins it for me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, okay then.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Might not quite work. Yeah, I don't eat meat either.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, okay. Something in peanut butter on, I don't know, a cracker.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: No, gluten-free bread, but I do love it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Gluten-free bread, yes, perfect. Crunchy or smooth? Crunchy. Good answer, that's what I like. The other drawing one here is, draw a picture of a Canadian animal. So, you know, it's always a moose or a bear or something. This one here is an albino bear in a snowstorm, so very clever. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: To be able to, like, teleport. Click my fingers and be somewhere else. That would save this whole issue of trying to get home.
BEN WATERWORTH: It would be pretty convenient.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: You'd feel pretty fresh without flying everywhere. Prepped and ready for a comp. Just click your fingers and you're there.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think the airline industry wouldn't like that superpower. I feel they would probably be anti-teleportation, but maybe they can get involved in the teleportation machines and then they can, you know, work their way around it, basically. The best candy in the world is... Yeah, that counts. Okay, that works. As a kid, who is your favourite sports team?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Well, as I said, I loved Netball, so Vixens.
BEN WATERWORTH: Nice. Which is always... I love the question, how is it as a kid? Like, I feel that generally as a child, you grow up still supporting that team, right? For the most part. Yes.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, true. Yeah, you do.
BEN WATERWORTH: It depends. I mean, I'm a Kelton supporter and I'm still stuck with them. So, you know, we'll get there one day. Don't worry. Yeah. Your favourite sports movie is?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Oh, there's so many. There's so many. I love Eddie the Eagle.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Great movie.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I think that's good.
BEN WATERWORTH: Getting that answer a lot, which I love recently because I kind of I didn't know sort of how popular that movie was because I remember when it was released, it kind of went into obscurity pretty quickly, but it's obviously very popular amongst the athletes.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: So yeah, it's just so wholesome. He just loves it and just tries. There's nothing more that you can do.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly. Exactly. It's a great film. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Maybe Italy. Italy.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, yeah, I mean, convenient right now. You might start looking at some houses, potentially.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Why are you there? I love this question. When you were little, what was one thing you always thought?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: open question. Thought about anything.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Well, I always thought I'd go to the Olympics.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hey, that worked out for you pretty well.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: It did, yeah. I can't think of what I always thought.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'll take that. That works. That's inspirational. Come on now.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: I always thought the mermaids were real.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Again, works too.
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Strange, strange bully.
BEN WATERWORTH: We all have those ones, I think, at one point. And now the last one. Again, this might put you on the spot. I don't know if you've always got to go to one here, Eleanor, or not, but your favourite joke to tell is...
ELEANOR PATTERSON: No, I don't have one.
BEN WATERWORTH: Don't have one? I like Liz's answer here. Is inappropriate one-liners at the dinner table. She doesn't give any examples, but that's her answer. There you go. Eleanor, before we let you go, if people want to stay up-to-date with your journey, what you're up to, social media, website, anything that people can follow you on?
ELEANOR PATTERSON: Yeah, I only tend to use Instagram. I don't use any other... Well, I have them, but they're private. Or I don't use Twitter. But yeah, I use Instagram, and it's just at Eleanor Patterson, I think.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm sure people can Google it and find it, and they'll get their revenge. They'll get their revenge, and we'll tag it on our post on our Instagram page there, too, so people can obviously check it out. But Eleanor, it's been a lot of fun talking about your journey and everything involved with the sport of high jump, and we're looking forward to the next three Olympics when you're going to have three gold medals wrapped around your neck right now. There you go. Prepare the next Eleanor, basically. And a massive thanks to Eleanor there. As I said, a lot of fun, learning a lot there, and it's a sport that I enjoy. I do love the field events in the athletics, and high jump is just such a unique sport. As I said during that interview, I always often wonder what makes athletes go through such rigours and interesting techniques, but obviously paying off very, very well there for Eleanor, and we're gonna look forward to seeing her at the next three Olympics, moving all the way up until Brisbane at 2032. In the meantime, if you've missed out on any of our past interviews, or want to stay up to date with who we've got coming up on the show, easiest way to do that of course is hit that subscribe button on all good podcast platforms. Simply search for Off The Podium, and while you're there, leave us some feedback. We'd love to hear what you think of the show. Give us a rating as well. Help us out there. Get the episodes spread out there further so more people like you can enjoy the show right across the world. And while you're online, jump on social media. We're on Facebook, we're on Twitter, we're on Instagram. Search for Off The Podium and follow us, like us, stay up to date, send us a message. We'd love to hear what you think of the show. Give us a tip for a guest or an episode. We'd love to find out what you're thinking out there and keep you up to date with everything that we're posting on there as well. Once again, big thanks to Eleanor. Thanks to everyone for listening. My name is Ben. This is Off The Podium. And as always, go left. Thanks watching
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