Jane Saville Interview (Brink Vault)

Today we bring you the first in a special of 'vault' interviews, where we bring you classic interviews from our parent show The Brink with Olympians and other people involved in the Olympic Games. Our first is an interview with Athens Bronze medallist race walker Jane Saville from 2009, as she takes us through her amazing career and details THAT moment from Sydney 2000 that still stands as one of the most sad sporting moments ever seen in Australian sporting history.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.

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BEN WATERWORTH: Welcome once again to Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast as we continue our interviews series with you here on the programme and starting a bit of a special interviews section that we're going to bring you today. The first of a few classic interviews that we've gone into the vault, and you might be thinking, well, hang on a minute, you guys aren't really that old. You only came about because of the Rio Olympics, and that is true. But throughout my personal radio career and various other podcasts and various other ventures, I've had the pleasure of interviewing several Olympic athletes and people involved with the Olympics over the years. So we thought we'd go into that vault and bring you some of these classic interviews with some of these great champions that I've had the pleasure of chatting to over the years. The first one that we're going to bring you today is a 2009 interview I did with Jane Saville. Now, we did mention a little bit, I think in our very first episode of Off The Podium, when we were talking about some of our memories of past Olympics. And I think Jared and I both brought up Jane Saville, who for those who might not be aware of, famously known for in Sydney, about to walk into the stadium in the sport of race walking, leading the pack and disqualified cruelly just as she's entering the stadium. It was one of the lasting images from an Australian perspective of those games. And after such disappointment that she felt throughout that Olympics, she picked herself up, came back to Athens four years later, and won a bronze medal. And just such an incredible story for Jane after such tragic circumstances brought her then to go on to win a bronze medal. And it was a very entertaining chat. Have to say that easily one of my favourite interviews I've ever done throughout my career was with Jane Saville. So let's go back to the year 2009, and hear my chat that I did with Jane. Now you might also hear some strange questions at the end of this. And that was kind of a Brink staple, where we would ask five set of questions to each of our guests. And you will also hear references, I believe, to the Hobart 2020 Olympic bid, which we did mention throughout the Off The Podium series through Rio. So sit back and enjoy my chat with Jane Saville from 2009 on my former show The Brink.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, we're very excited to have our next guest on the show. She is an Olympic bronze medallist and three times Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the sport of race walking. Earlier this year, she did announce her retirement from the sport after a career spanning more than 20 years, but continues to support community health and fitness programmes as well as being involved with the International Association of Athletics Federations. Please welcome to The Brink, Jane Saville. Jane, thank you very much for your time today.

JANE SAVILLE: Thanks for having me on, Ben.

BEN WATERWORTH: So first of all, Jane, how has retirement been? Have you enjoyed the last eight months away from the sport?

JANE SAVILLE: Yes, it's been great to be a spectator. I went to a couple of races and I enjoyed watching from the stands at the World Championships in Berlin, which was an amazing World Championships. The Germans really got behind the whole meet, and I had the best time. Just I was an athletic fanatic for eight days there in Berlin, just had a ball. So it's been nice. I've tried to keep relatively fit and just put on too much weight, although I am pregnant now. Yes, it's very exciting. So lots of has changed sort of in the last eight months.

BEN WATERWORTH: A future race walker in the making there.

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, I don't know about that. As long as they're fit and healthy, who cares?

BEN WATERWORTH: Do you miss the competition at all?

JANE SAVILLE: I did a little bit. Like when the races were on, I was thinking, oh, it'd be nice to be out there. But then I don't miss the training. That's what I don't miss. And I don't miss the injuries that sort of I had in the later part of my career. So I missed some aspects, of course, that I missed. And I missed my friends. So it was great to catch up with them at some of the races during the year when I was a spectator. So yeah, it's aspects that you do miss, but certainly not the hard long hours out there by yourself.

BEN WATERWORTH: I can understand that. Now, when you're actually watching it, say when you're at the World Championships this year, do you sit back and watch and sort of think, oh, look at their technique, they're doing well, or are you very judgemental of people's techniques?

JANE SAVILLE: Unfortunately, I am actually. And I suppose people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, as they say, but I think that comes with the territory of being a race walker. But I'm certainly no judge by far from that, but you still pick up things and you think that some athletes are looking good and some athletes aren't. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what I think. It's the judges out there.

BEN WATERWORTH: How did you actually originally get involved in race walking?

JANE SAVILLE: I just started with little athletics when I was four years of age, and I didn't start with race walking. I just did all the events and had lots of fun. And for me, sport was just a social thing. And I played lots of sport growing up, but predominantly was athletics and swimming and surf lifesaving. And I did them all at a national level, up until I was, I think, 18 with still water swimming. And then 21, I finished off surf lifesaving. That's when I started focusing just solely on race walking and really training hard for that and made the Olympics in 96. So yeah, it was sort of, you know, I just got, I was better at it, I suppose. And things that you do well at, you seem to enjoy more. And that's what made me a race walker.

BEN WATERWORTH: So making that team, though, in 1996, that must have been amazing.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, it was really fantastic. I look back and just think, wow. I was so naïve, though, and I look back and think, wow, if I'd only known back then what I know now, what could I have done? But it was a great experience. And it's a real contrast to later Olympics. And certainly learning about yourself and coping with the nerves in the Olympics and the big pressure there. And even though there wasn't any pressure on me to do well, I put a lot of pressure on myself. And yeah, it was a really good learning experience. And it was just such a great buzz to walk out into the stadium and your first Olympic Games.

BEN WATERWORTH: I certainly could imagine that would have been amazing. Now, as of course, I mentioned in the introduction, you went on to win a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics, and you did go on to win three Commonwealth Games gold medals. All of them obviously fantastic achievements. Is there a favourite out of all of those though?

JANE SAVILLE: Well, Athens was fantastic because I'd come back after the disappointment of Sydney. And it's really hard to time your body and your training so well to peak on one particular day every four years. So I was really proud of myself that I came back and I fixed my technique and everything. So that was a huge high for me. And I think with the Commonwealth Games, they've all got their special moments, but winning in 1998 was probably the biggest because nobody expected me to win, let alone myself. I was going in hoping of a bronze medal. I thought that'd be really lovely if I could get third in this race, and I'll be happy with that. And then in the last kilometre, I took over my hero, who was Kerry Saxby, and I ended up beating her. And so I sort of came out of the blue there. So that was a really, really high moment of my career and a real breakthrough for me as well.

BEN WATERWORTH: Also mentioning too back to the Olympics at Athens, the footage, of course, of you was pretty famous of you out there on the podium, tears in your eyes.

JANE SAVILLE: There's always pictures of me crying. There were the happy tears or sad tears. I always got this terrible expression on my face, that I'll take the photos from Athens. And yeah, they really moved me even now. I had to do a presentation here in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, and I played the footage. And I didn't expect to cry. It was just spontaneous, overwhelming emotion. And I knew the man that was giving me the medal, he'd taken me away. He's on the committee, the IAAF. And he'd taken me on trips overseas. He's an Australian guy, Bill Bailey. And it was just so lovely to share that moment with him. And I gave him a big hug. And it was just really a fantastic moment.

BEN WATERWORTH: Do you actually have any ill will, though, knowing that both the people that beat you had returned positive drug tests at some stage in their career?

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, you know, it depends on the day.

BEN WATERWORTH: You know?

JANE SAVILLE: Look, it's a sad, you know, there's lots of people in sport that could talk about that, what could have, would have, should have been. And, you know, it's a sad part of sport, but that's just human nature. People will go out and cheat. But look, they were clean. They passed their tests in 2004. So, you know, there's nothing you can say there. It's sad for the sport and sad for sport in general, that people do resort to those sort of tactics. But as I said, people do it all the time in business, and in life, they cheat, and they find easier ways out to do things and be successful. So you just have to live with that.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, you did mention briefly a second ago, obviously, most people do remember you for that moment at Sydney. Do you get sick of people referring to you as the person who got that close to the gold medal? Do you wish they would just focus on your actual results?

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, look, it's part of my history, and I can't really shy away from it. And in many ways, you know, that's all people know me for. They don't actually realise that I did win a bronze medal four years later. So, you know, it can be a little bit frustrating at times, but, you know, you've got to take the good with the bad, and that's what the Olympics are all about. And there's so many highs from Olympic Games, but there's so many lows for many athletes. So, and I think that's what makes them so special. They're only once every four years, and you have to take the good with the bad. And, you know, that's part of my career. And sometimes I might look back to go, it would have been so great to win. But then in saying that, I probably wouldn't have had such a long career. I may have retired earlier. And I wouldn't have felt that euphoria that I felt on the podium in Athens if I'd won in Sydney. So, you know, there's two ways you can look at it, and I'm trying to look at it in a more positive way.

BEN WATERWORTH: Did you ever actually get a chance to meet the judge who gave you that red card? But if you haven't, would you like to?

JANE SAVILLE: It's funny because, well, a lot of people don't realise this. In Race walking, the chief judge who actually disqualified you, back then in 2000, the rules have changed a little bit since then. But back then in 2000, the man that held the red paddle up to me was basically just the messenger. Three other judges on the course had given me red cards. So he was just telling me that I was disqualified. So most of Australians wanted to kill him and injure him, you know, the poor guy. And in actual fact, he was just the messenger. It was a perfect example of don't shoot the messenger. And so lots of people have held sort of ill will against him. And I never really did, but I actually met him for the first time. I don't remember his face or anything. And he's an Italian judge. And I met him two years ago at a race. And then again this year, I saw him at another race. And he actually had the red paddle. It was his own personal red paddle that he used. And we got some funny photos at this function that were out of him disqualifying me and me with a really serious face and just being really silly. So, you know, I certainly don't have any ill will towards him. He was doing his job. And somebody had to do it. I actually feel a little bit of sympathy for him at that time.

BEN WATERWORTH: I remember actually when it happened, just the amount of grief that was outpouring. I mean, obviously Australia was just taken over by the Olympics. But it was just amazing. I mean, surely you must have gotten some decent support out of it.

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, look, you know, I actually, I was embarrassed. I felt like the biggest loser. I just thought, what do I do? I didn't know where to go. I ran back up the ramp because I thought, well, my parents and my fiance at the time were out running to the stadium. And they didn't know that I'd been disqualified. And how embarrassing. All these people expected me to come into the stadium. What do I do? And I just, I was totally embarrassed. But it was the opposite effect. Everyone was so proud of me. I had people coming up for days later. And at the Last Lap Night Club, they dedicated a song to me that night. And, you know, so I just had this huge overwhelming support. And it was fantastic. It was really lovely because I wasn't a winner. And I didn't win the gold medal. I didn't, you know, do anything really. I felt like the biggest loser. So this support that came through, everyone was proud of me. And it was a really lovely feeling to have that support behind me.

BEN WATERWORTH: You didn't win the gold, but you won the nation's heart.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, absolutely. And that's what I said, you know, the Olympics, so many things happened during the Olympic Games. And that low period for me was certainly an interesting, the effect that I had on people and the Australian public was very interesting.

BEN WATERWORTH: You were mentioning about your family before, you come from a very sporting family with your father, a second grade rugby league player for the Rabideauxs, and your mother an athletics coach, as well. Sorry, you should mention your sister is also a race walker too. But how big is the trophy cabinet at your house? You must have a pretty big space there for all the medals and everything.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, well, we were trying to do a clean out, yeah, to get rid of a few things. Mum and dad don't have as much room anymore. It's more the clothes from all our teams now, because we've been on so many teams over the last 15 to 20 years, that you get so much gear, and we're very proud of it, but it's storing all that stuff. And my husband, he was a professional cyclist up until two years ago, and he represented Australia at the Olympics in 2000 and 2004 as well. So I went to our garage the other day, and he's still got some trophies from little athletics when he was 12. So I've got rid of those ones, and now I said it's time for you to get rid of those ones as well.

BEN WATERWORTH: Put the Olympic medal up there and just like, look, this is the main one.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, no, I think that's what mum and dad for safekeeping.

BEN WATERWORTH: Do you actually have, sitting at the dinner table with your husband, Matt, considering you get to travel the world with your chosen sports, you must give some interesting dinner table conversations there.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, well, when we're together, he's been working really hard. He's now a manager of a professional cycling team in Europe. So he's been very busy, more busy than he was when he was an athlete. So yeah, look, we've got some great stories, and we've experienced some incredible things. And it's been fantastic because we've been able to experience them together, the Olympics and Commonwealth Games together. And so yeah, it's just, we're very fortunate that we've been able to lead such successful lives, and we've met so many fantastic people, and we can enjoy that. And Matt's still involved with cycling at an elite level, so he's still sort of living the dream, but on the other side of the post.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, of course, when you won the gold medal in Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games, you're up there with your sister who did finish second. I mean, that must have been pretty special too.

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, look, Melbourne was fantastic. And you know, I'm a Sydney Cider, and I love New South Wales, but I have to say that Melbourne, they love their sport a lot more than Sydney Ciders and New South Wales people. I'll give that to them. I won't give too much credit down there to the Victorians, but you know, they did put on a fantastic Commonwealth Games and the crowd out there at the Docklands and then to receive my medal in the MCG. You know, I've never, the first time that I went to the MCG was actually for the opening ceremony to carry the Australian flag. So, and then the second time was when I received my gold medal. So I certainly got some fond memories of the MCG, and it has nothing to do with, you know, the usual sports that are there.

BEN WATERWORTH: I'm so sorry.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, so you know, Melbourne was a great games, and you know, I was really proud of Australia, and just had such a fun time, and Nat was there, and she raced really well, and Mum and Dad, and we had lots of friends down there. It was just such a joyful occasion.

BEN WATERWORTH: Do you actually feel that race walking as a sport is under promoted, and do you think that more people should get involved in it?

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, look, we're never going to be the blue ribbon event, and we understand that, but yeah, I think that it doesn't get as much credit as it probably should, and I think we can do a lot more as athletes, and myself as a former athlete, to promote this sport. And I just think to help people understand the sport, because I think there's a lot of misunderstandings about the sport and how it's judged, and race walking can be such an exciting event, and some of the most exciting events have been the 50-kilometre walks that I've watched. They go for four hours, and the tactics involved, and you think one guy's going to win because he's five minutes ahead at halfway, and then he blows up and is vomiting over the side, and the next person comes through, and some of the most exciting races have been the longer ones. So I think we can certainly work on it, but there's lots of sports out there, and Australia is so successful in so many sports, that we're going to have to work hard to make it one of the better sports and more promoted sports in this country, definitely.

BEN WATERWORTH: And with the 50-kilometre walk that you were talking about, that's 10 kilometres longer than the marathon, so I suppose they kill a bit more. Sorry for the fact they've got to go 10km longer than the marathon, guys.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And sometimes I think people don't realise how fast race walkers do walk. When Nathan Deeks broke the world record down in Geelong a few years ago, he went through the marathon, the 42km marathon down there, in under three hours. And for most people, they can't run a marathon in that time. For your average jogger, to go under three hours, that's a huge barrier. And he did it race walking, and then went on to do just under eight kilometres more. So we are moving very fast. A lot of my friends that hadn't seen the event before came and watched me a few times, whether it was the Commonwealth Games or even just the National Championships. And they were like, well, we didn't realise how fast you guys go. And so we do move along quite fast.

BEN WATERWORTH: I haven't actually had the chance to witness it in person, but from what I've seen when I watched the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games, I've then sort of got the urge to go, oh, yeah, that looks easy. You try it, it's not easy.

JANE SAVILLE: Need a bit of coordination and, well, actually, the National Championships are being held in Hobart next year in February. So you could go down and have a check it out.

BEN WATERWORTH: I think so. I'll put my entry, I'll put my name down for an entry to it.

JANE SAVILLE: Why not?

BEN WATERWORTH: I could be the next Jane Saville, who knows?

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, don't try 50 kilometres first, but do the 20, yeah, for sure.

BEN WATERWORTH: I'll just go, I'll start small and build it up.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, what is actually your role with the IAAF?

JANE SAVILLE: Well, I'm just on the Race Walking Committee. So basically, there's about, I think there's about eight or nine of us on there from all over the world, and I'm the Oceania representative. And we just try and promote race walking and give guidance to the IAAF on how we can improve race walking, the judging of race walking, any aspect to do with the event. We try and give guidance to the IAAF, sort of more of an expert guidance to everything to do with the event. So yeah, it's been my second year on the committee, and it's been interesting, and I've learned a lot. It's a lot of hard work, but it's great, and I really enjoy putting back into the sport and certainly learning from some of the older members of the committee. And some of them are race-walking judges, and some of them have got different views, and even the different nationalities have different ideas on where they see the sport going. So it's really interesting, and I'm really enjoying my time on it.

BEN WATERWORTH: That's great. It gives you something to do, I suppose, in your retirement, doesn't it?

JANE SAVILLE: Yes, certainly. And it's been good because I've been based in Europe with my husband, so I could attend a few more meetings more easily than I would have if I'd been in Australia.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, do you ever actually say, when you're walking down the street or going to the shop or that, just get some milk, do you ever feel awkward just walking normally, not race walking? Do you ever sort of go, oh, I want to throw in some moves?

JANE SAVILLE: No, no, not at all. I'm actually a very slow walker in the street. I'm a bit of a dawdler. I found this year when I was trying to keep fit and I wanted to race walk, I was running a little bit, and then I'd try and mix it up and do a little bit of race walking. And walking, when I go for an actual walk walk, not just walking down the street, but when I want to do some exercise, I'd like to go a bit faster than just normal walking. So I was trying to race walk a little bit, but I found all my old injuries kept nagging me. So I've got to try and get on top of those before I sort of get back into doing a little bit more race walking. But hopefully, I've given them a bit of a rest now. They won't come back and haunt me when I just want to do a half an hour race walk every now and then.

BEN WATERWORTH: I certainly try and give the half an hour daily walk, the exercise that they sort of promoted. I think today when I try that, I'll try and do some of the race walking. I'll watch your techniques.

JANE SAVILLE: Don't let anyone give you any stick if you're out on the road either. Just ignore them.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, screw the cars. I mean, you know, they can go around me. I'll do Kath and Kel's style from Kath and Kim.

JANE SAVILLE: Kel is, you know, and the outfit, if you've got the outfit to go with it, then you'll be set.

BEN WATERWORTH: I'm sure my dad has something to mean.

JANE SAVILLE: Actually, everybody's dad has something like that.

BEN WATERWORTH: I'll give him a call.

JANE SAVILLE: I'm back in fashion now, though, so don't worry about it.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now obviously that you mentioned that you're pregnant. I was going to say, do you have any plans for a comeback? But I suppose that's completely off the table now, isn't it?

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, look, no. The girl, actually, the Irish girl, who I'm very good friends with, Olive O'Loughnan, she came second at the World Championships this year, and she's got a three-year-old daughter, and she said, see, look what you can do. And I'm thinking, no, no, no chance of that. I certainly don't want to get back into that at all. I don't have the time, and I really want to devote it more to my family. And yeah, just keeping well, not necessarily super fit.

BEN WATERWORTH: You can see also Kim Clisers, you know, she came back from retirement this year to win the US Open. Inspirational, Jane.

JANE SAVILLE: I couldn't see myself doing that, no.

BEN WATERWORTH: I'll tell you what, in 2020 for the Hobart Olympics, we'll guarantee you a gold medal. We'll make sure no judges are near the stadium when you're coming that way. We'll make sure all the other competitors are disqualified, and we will guarantee you Olympic gold. How does that sound?

JANE SAVILLE: Well, if you can guarantee it, then I will definitely make it. I'll only be, what, 2020? I'll only be 45.

BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, look, you don't even have to race wall.

JANE SAVILLE: I'll bring chicken, yeah. Gee, I'll be five. I was actually looking at the 2020 Olympics, and I think, you know, Hobart, that would be the most southern Olympic Games ever been held, wouldn't it? Because it's further south than Rio.

BEN WATERWORTH: I think it is, yeah.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, so look, you know, I think it's a fantastic opportunity there, and you've got enough B&Bs down there to settle the whole Olympic family.

BEN WATERWORTH: A lot of people have been talking about the fact, they're saying, like, you know, you couldn't build an Olympic village here. You don't have enough room. We're very hospital people in Hobart. We could bill it. We could, like, have, you know, the athletes. We were sort of talking about, you know, imagine having the same boat in your bedroom, staying with you for the Olympics.

JANE SAVILLE: Get back to the roots. We don't need any of this brand new accommodation. Billeting, get back to that, I think. That was in, when I was under 12, I went to Darwin, and we were billeted out for a couple of nights. And I think, you know, every athlete, you'll get to experience Hobart like it should be experienced.

BEN WATERWORTH: And I think that the people were nice enough, were, you know, welcoming enough, and we can help them train. We've got some great places, especially for race walkers, you know. We've got, we're nice and flat in many areas.

JANE SAVILLE: Look, you know, the demographics down there, I think you could hold it with, you know, one hand tied behind your back. You'll be fine, no problem.

BEN WATERWORTH: That's the thing. I mean, Brisbane think they've got, they think they've got it in the bag for like 2020, 2024. We've got news for them. It's not going to happen.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, no, you'll still roll them.

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, have you ever actually tried to teach your husband the techniques of race walking?

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, it's a laugh. It really is. He did a little athletics when he was younger, of course. But, yeah, he's got a funny technique. I don't know whether it'll... Yeah, there's not a lot of speed there. And being on a bike for, you know, most of his life, he's got the fitness. But, yeah, I'm not sure about the technique. He looks a bit funny when he does it. I'll try and give him tips.

BEN WATERWORTH: I'm sure you'd be better on a bike than he would say you'd be better walking.

JANE SAVILLE: I don't know. He would argue with that because I'm very poor on a bike. I lose concentration. You've got to balance. And I like looking at houses. I look to the right view, to the left, and, yeah, it's a bit of a disaster, myself on a bike.

BEN WATERWORTH: I have an actual confession to make. I actually don't even know how to ride a bike.

JANE SAVILLE: I'm one step ahead of you there.

BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly. I suppose walking, you don't really need to, you learn that when you're one. Bike riding. Anyone can walk. It's, you know, who cares about the bike?

JANE SAVILLE: People ask me when I started walking, I'm like, I think I was about nine months or ten months. So I've been training a long time.

BEN WATERWORTH: It's a pretty obvious question, I suppose. I mean, it's easy to ask, you know, your husband, when did you start riding a bike? But when you go to Jane, when did you start walking?

JANE SAVILLE: It's like, oh, would you want the real time or do you want race walking time?

BEN WATERWORTH: Now, we're almost out of time now, Jane, but we will wrap things up with a set of questions we like to ask our guests. Now, we usually have five questions, but since my co-host Josh is not with me today, it will have to be whittled down to four questions, if that is all right. Oh, good. Oh, well, some people think they are. Some people think they're not.

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, no, the pressure. I didn't know that you were going to ask me questions like that.

BEN WATERWORTH: We don't like to tell our guests, because we like to keep them on the spot, see? So the answers are just perfect. I'm going to start you off with a really hard one, Jane. What is your favourite type of cheese? Camembert. Oh, see, you love Camembert, don't you?

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah, I like it. Although I haven't been eating much of it since I've been pregnant. So once I've got this baby out of my tummy, then I'll be eating a lot more of it.

BEN WATERWORTH: Maybe you'll have sort of cravings one night for like cheese on wheat beets or some weird combination.

JANE SAVILLE: Thank goodness I haven't had any of those strange things. So yeah, it's been good so far.

BEN WATERWORTH: So far, so far. Question number two. Are you a folder or a scruncher?

JANE SAVILLE: I'm a folder.

BEN WATERWORTH: Folder. We love the folders. We are very intelligent people, the folders. You've got to put those scrunches aside, you know. They waste it.

JANE SAVILLE: Yes, absolutely.

BEN WATERWORTH: Question number, well this is actually question number four. Are we alone in the universe?

JANE SAVILLE: Ooh.

BEN WATERWORTH: Very in-depth questions we like to ask you.

JANE SAVILLE: The pressure. No.

BEN WATERWORTH: No, see, the short answers, that's what we like. We had the Premier of Tasmania on, and he just gives complete in-depth answers, politician-style answers.

JANE SAVILLE: He's a politician, so, you know, did he even answer the question though?

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, he pretty much avoided it.

JANE SAVILLE: He's done his job well then.

BEN WATERWORTH: He certainly has. He likes to do that to Tasmania sometimes too, but that's another story. And the final question I'll ask you, Jane, is what event would you like to see at the Hobart 2020 Olympics? Now, this is just not your run-of-the-mill sport. It can be anything. We've got poop lotto, tiddly winks, water aerobics. You name it, you can have it. What would you like to see?

JANE SAVILLE: Captain Ball. Do you know what Captain Ball is?

BEN WATERWORTH: I don't think I'm familiar with that.

JANE SAVILLE: Well, it's a game playing team, and we played it at primary school. There's about six or eight, and you have to throw the ball, and everyone bops down. There's someone out the front throwing the ball, everyone's in a line, and then the person at the back catches the ball, runs to the front, and you do it all over again. Oh, yes. I don't know what you guys call it.

BEN WATERWORTH: I think it's called Soldier Ball down here.

JANE SAVILLE: Oh, well, Captain Ball, Soldier Ball, whatever.

BEN WATERWORTH: Similar, similar.

JANE SAVILLE: I think that should be in for sure. I think there's been a lot of kids, school kids, primary schools out there training very hard for that.

BEN WATERWORTH: They do. They play it all the time. It's things like dodge ball and all these other sports.

JANE SAVILLE: That would be even better.

BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, yes. In like Ben Stiller, and they could just, you know.

JANE SAVILLE: Yeah. You're on fire with your events, man.

BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, look, we'll have a list. They're on the website of just some of the things we've had. I mean, we had Vanessa Amorosi. She's doing water aerobics in the water. She's thinking it would be like fantastic to have all these people going to music. And when we had Paul O'Brien from Home and Away, he's thinking golf, but taking pot shots at the cast of Neighbours. So, I mean, you could get all the judges who have disqualified you in your entire career of race walking.

JANE SAVILLE: Hit them with it.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes. Two table tennis with their little red cards, and you know, fling ping pong balls at them.

JANE SAVILLE: I like your ideas, man.

BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic. Well, Jane Saville, thank you very much for your time here in The Brink. It certainly has been a pleasure, and good luck with the pregnancy and everything else that goes your way.

JANE SAVILLE: Thanks a lot, Ben.

BEN WATERWORTH: Definitely a fun interview, and no, it's been about eight years since that interview, but thanks again, Jane, for your time on the show. Should you happen to stumble, just go, I didn't give an interview to Off The Podium. I'm sure there's gonna be a few of these people perhaps seeing these online that might be being shared, but we've got more of these classic ones coming your way. Stay tuned, Off The Podium Podcast on Facebook. Easiest way to start today that way, and of course, easiest way to get these episodes direct to your speakers, subscribing to us on iTunes, and remember to rate, leave feedback for us while you're there. We appreciate the support and feedback, but once again, appreciate you listening, and we will be back very very soon, here on Off The Podium.