Kiara Reddingius Interview
It's time to return to the sport of bobsled today and speak to another Aussie in the sport as we learn more about the amazing Kiara Reddingius and her unique journey from the middle of Western Australia right through to a potential spot at the 2022 Olympics! We find out just how she got involved in the sport and how she was recruited by two former guests of this show. We also find out just how she was able to overcome the difficulty of not making the 2018 Commonwealth Games in a different sport and how she was able to use that disappointment to help her towards her Olympic ambitions. Added to this we find out just why watching Friends is once again inspirational for a Winter Olympian and why she has a very unique pump up song to help her get in the zone. It's a fascinating chat that you 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 once again for an interview with an athlete, and we are obviously right on the cusp of Beijing. I can literally say this, minutes away, essentially, hours away to be precise, but we are speaking to Kiara Reddingius, member of Team Australia, Bobsled, who at the time of recording this, now we did record this back in December, was in the midst of the World Cup season, and aiming to get towards the Olympics. Of course, by the time we're releasing this, we will know whether or not Kiara is at the Olympics or not. But we'll say, always preface this by saying this was recorded a couple of months ago. But this is a fascinating chat with Kiara, because essentially, you'll hear me explain this in the interview, was really connected with Kiara through Ash Werner, who of course we had on several months ago. And this is a fascinating story that Kiara comes from the middle of Western Australia, pretty much desert, and had never even seen snow before when she got the nod and sort of was recruited to become a bobsledder. So a fascinating story about how Ash contacted her, and actually how Ash wasn't the first person to contact her to try and get over into bobsled, coming from a heptathlon background, very nearly was at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 as a heptathlete. But it's a fascinating story hearing from the disappointment of not making Gold Coast right through to potentially becoming an Olympian, why the Olympics weren't necessarily always a dream for her, and what it was like growing up in a town in the middle of nowhere in Western Australia, a very, very isolated state, very isolated town in an isolated state as well. So you'll learn a lot about that, what it was like switching from heptathlon over through into bobsled. And I continue my push to try and get me in the Olympics somehow by getting a sled named after me. Can this work? Will this happen for me? Who knows? We will wait and see. Come Beijing. But here is our chat with Australian bobsledder, Kiara Reddingius.
BEN WATERWORTH: So exciting today to continue our coverage of the Beijing Olympics. In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, we're getting so very close, and speaking to athletes who will be there, potentially be there, sports that are gonna be at the games, and everything else in between, we're returning to one of our favourite sports on Off The Podium today, bobsled. We've had a few guests on the show from the Australian bobsled team in the lead up to Beijing, and we've got another member on today who I'm very excited to learn more about her journey into the sport, because it is a fun journey, how she got into the support. She's maybe well known for some other sports, particularly heptathlon, talking about an oceanic gold medallist in the sport of heptathlon, second in the Commonwealth Games trials back in 2018. But we're here to talk about bobsled, and maybe a little bit about that right now. It's a pleasure to welcome off the podium, Kiara Reddingius right now with us. Kiara, first of all, pleasure to speak with you today here on Off The Podium.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Hi, thanks for having me.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's a pleasure to have you here because I am excited to learn about this journey. I was saying a little bit to you off air that Ash, Ash Werner, of course, we had on the show a couple of months back, talked you up, talked your praises, mentioned somebody that you would be great to get on the show to learn about your journey because you're from basically the middle of Western Australia, and now you're competing in bobsled. Now, you don't really, I guess, associate the middle of Western Australia. You know, not much snow there with somebody who potentially could be at the Winter Olympics very soon. I've got to ask straight away, how on earth are you competing in bobsled coming from the middle of Western Australia?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, well, I wouldn't have thought that either. It wasn't exactly something I dreamed of, and for sure, it kind of was a set of fortunate for me circumstances in Australia, particularly because obviously winter sports aren't as big, they're skiing and things like that. We have like really top of the range sort of facilities and athletes, but something like bobsled where we don't have a bobsled track or any of the events where we don't have the facilities, it's very hard obviously for Australians to be competitive in those events or even know they exist or be around them. So I'm from Western Australia, so the Winter Olympics was never kind of something that I ever thought of, but I was an athlete. And what happens for bobsled particularly in Australia is someone decides that they want to be a pilot, and then they stalk people on social media, and then they try and recruit them onto their team. So athletics, track and field is obviously a really good place for them to look for athletes that might be suitable as well as the beach sprinters and rugby players. And they just keep an eye out on anyone around Australia who might have the good sort of physiology to potentially be good at bobsled quite quickly because they've already got the background training levels where anyone could do bobsled. But in terms of getting there quicker, they usually try and find the athletes just because of the expense of the sport and the requirements to be away from home and stuff. It's hard to develop, spend the time developing athletes from Australia before they go over, if that makes sense.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, for sure. So when you get that initial contact, I'm assuming it was from Ash, what's your thought process then when you've got somebody going, hey, you ever thought about bobsled before?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Well, I actually got contacted by Brie, the other Australian pilot in 2018 after my non-selection for the Commonwealth Games. And I was at the Stawell gift, a race in there and her coach came up to me and it was just, it was very random. He's like, oh, can I talk to you Kiara? And I was like, yeah, no worries. And he's like, have you ever thought about bobsled? And I was like, I just, I just thought it was a joke. Like I hadn't, it was so out of the blue. And I was like, no, I haven't. And he's like, I think that you have the perfect sort of body for it. Heptathletes and decathletes generally do really well at it. Would you consider it? And I'm sort of just warming up for my running race. And I'm just like, this is all, are you serious? Like, are you like, he goes, yeah, yeah, I think you would be really, really good at it. And we're trying to, you know, build the women's team. And I said, well, I don't know. I'll think about it, thank you. And at that time, I was really committed to athletics. And I was just in a place where I wanted to run. And I was still trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life after the Commonwealth Games trials, if I wanted to continue with athletics. But I did know that I really liked sprinting and so I messaged back. And I was just like, thanks so much for the opportunity. It'd be really cool if I could just like jump in and give it a go, but I don't really have the resources or the time really to just go and do it. We left it there. And then a couple of years later, I got this other message from Ashley. And she was like, oh, hey, sorry to like send you a random message, but I'm an Australian, Bob said, Pilate, have you ever kind of heard about it? And I was like, actually, I've already been asked about this before. And she was like, yeah, you're a prime candidate for a push person. So I said the same thing to her, but I had just moved to Melbourne just before she kind of contacted me. And I said, no, I'm committed to athletics. I don't really have the financial resources to do. Bob said, I really love to give it a go, because honestly, like number one, I think I'd be good at it. But number two, I'm scared that I will be scared of it. So I don't want to commit to something that I could potentially hate, because you're quite fast down an icy hill. So I don't really know what that feels like. So I haven't even seen snow. So she was like, oh, really? Well, so she left it there, like just every couple of months would check in and check if I was still keen on athletics. And then the pandemic happened and I got a few injuries with athletics. I saved a lot of money through the pandemic because we couldn't do anything. And I was just at a different sort of time in my life and had different desires, I guess. And I was like, do you think you still need someone? Like, I think maybe I want to give it a go. I have, it was mainly the money. I had saved enough money to kind of support myself for that amount of time. My work was okay with it for me to leave for however long I needed. And yeah, and then she was trying to play it cool, but she was very excited.
BEN WATERWORTH: I can imagine. Ash is a bit excitable. Which is, cause I believe you were quite late even getting into athletics, weren't you? This wasn't something that you had grown up doing. You were quite, I guess, older compared to what most people are when they get into the sport.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I started when I was 21 in athletics. I was always good in high school. I really enjoyed our high school carnivals and stuff like that. But growing up in a small country town, we didn't have a lot of organised team sports. So I didn't grow up with the ball skills and hand-eye coordination and everything. That a lot of kids, they start from when they're five. And when you go into basketball and hockey and things like that, there's a lot of natural awareness of where the ball is and where the field players are and stuff, which I didn't have. So I played both basketball and hockey in both year 11 and 12, just to be a bit social. But I got a lot better, but it was never quite fit because I was kind of starting that late. And when I went to university in Perth, I wanted to try and get to know people and be a bit more social because I didn't know anyone in Perth. And I wanted to do a sport because I've always been very active, but I didn't want to go into a ball sport as an adult. So I knew that athletics was something that I really loved in high school. So I went down to a club and looked at my coach and he looked at me and he said, what do you want to do? And I said, I really like sprinting and I really like high jump. And he just looked at me and started laughing because I was a bit bigger than I am now, just curvy and strong looking, but not like a tall, skinny high jumper. He said, you don't really look like a high jumper. He said, what if you jumped? And I said, well, I jumped 160 in high school. And he goes, wow, you must be quite strong to be able to do that with your body. And I said, thank you. That's a compliment. Yeah. And he said, you look like a heptathlete. And I said, I don't know what that is. He went through the events and he said, let's train for that until you want to specialise in something or you find what you're really good at. And I wasn't ever really good at anything except the heptathlon, which is a bit of everything. So I kept doing the heptathlon and I improved really rapidly. He was very elite minded and he really laid out a plan for you to become elite if you wanted to take it. So I worked my life around being a full-time athlete. And within the four and a half years from when I started, I made it to Commonwealth Games level, which was pretty cool. And then I decided to move to Melbourne to have a bit more opportunity because WA is very isolated and it's hard to get the competitions and it's very expensive to go from WA. And then that didn't quite work out for me. I got injured very quickly. And then I was dealing with that and got more injuries. So about two years I was injured and then the pandemic hit. And so then we were in Melbourne for the lockdown. So yeah, that was how I shifted out of athletics.
BEN WATERWORTH: One of the many lockdowns, of course, in Melbourne. I think you lose count of how many they ended up having. I really wanted to touch on Leonora, where you're from in WA. Now, I believe this is about the same distance from Perth as Melbourne is from Sydney. So this is very remote, basically. A long way closer to Kalgoorlie. Give our listeners and our viewers on YouTube an idea about Leonora. What's it known for? What's it like? Should people visit there? Is this like a hidden gem where maybe we want to leave it untouched so it doesn't get ruined?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Leonora is an old gold mining town. And so there's a ghost town, old ghost town right next to it called The Suns, well, it's called Gualia, and then there's a mine there called Suns of Gualia that gets taken over by the next mining company all the time. So that's the main mine there. And the town when I was growing up, probably it was probably one of the biggest it's been, and that had about 2000 people because all the families of the miners were in town. Whereas now for a while, the mines shut down, and when they reopened, it became more FIFO. And so there's not as many families in town anymore. So the school is a district high school. So the primary school and the high school are combined. When I was going through school, when we got to high school, there was only maybe 12 kids in the whole high school from year seven to 12. So we left Leonora for year eight, and I went to Kalgoorlie. My parents still live in Leonora, and me and my sisters went to Kalgoorlie. So my older sister did her high schooling with a family. There she lived with them. And then when I went down, I lived with my auntie for a year. And then when my little sister came down, there was nowhere for her to go. There was no one that we could really board her with. So mum and dad rented a house and put us in there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: 12, 15, and just turned 18 year old. And we looked after ourselves.
BEN WATERWORTH: Might be the most furthest removed town you could ever think of for Australia, to potentially produce a Winter Olympian. I mean, I can't imagine. I mean, what would the nearest snow be? Like, you know, ski area, like Mount Hotham or something like that. I mean, you're a long way away from anything.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, definitely be in Victoria. I think would be the closest. I haven't, I didn't, I hadn't seen snow even in Melbourne, because when I first got there, that's something that you want to experience with someone, you know, with people. I didn't know anyone in Melbourne. So I was like, I'll do it next year. And then the next year we were locked down. So I couldn't, but I did, I did, it's actually a little lie that I haven't seen snow at all, because randomly in October, I think last year it snowed in Ballarat when I was there working for about 10 minutes. There was a bit of snow, snow falling.
BEN WATERWORTH: It counts.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: It was kind of a little bit of snow that I saw there.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's something that I think growing up in Hobart, I always took for granted, because I mean, it didn't necessarily snow at ground level. I think I got that once in my life, but we've obviously got Mount Wellington, big mountain overlooking the city, which it snows all the time in winter. So during winter, we can just go up the mountain. It's a 20 minute drive and you can experience snow. So I've had lots of family and friends coming from the mainland who come to Hobart in winter. I'm like, wow, snow, I've never seen snow before. And you're like, oh, okay, it's interesting that way. But did you, at least growing up, I mean, whether it be watching the Summer Olympics, but I mean, did you ever pay attention to something like the Winter Olympics? Was that something that you ever, I guess, had a lot of knowledge about and kind of had some sort of interest in?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, my parents, particularly my dad, are really interested in watching sports. So we would always watch the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games and have the Winter Olympics on. But obviously it's not broadcast the same in Australia. So I definitely knew about it. The Olympics was always, and the Commonwealth Games was always really fun to watch. I always really enjoyed watching it, but I never had any Olympic dreams. Like I was not, I always enjoyed sport, but I just never had that big world view, you know, like I didn't think that I would be someone who could do something like that. And my journey has more been about being the best that I can be and improving in the ways that I can and committing fully to whatever I'm doing. And that has actually taken me to a position where I might be able to make the Olympics, which is very bizarre to me, but it's very, very cool as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I can imagine though, that progression through particularly in Heptathlon, when you said you got to Commonwealth Games level, you got second at the trials in 2018, unfortunately weren't picked, but do things like that all of a sudden give you a bit of a, hey, this could happen. I am at a level now where I could go to an Olympics, and then you slowly set your focus to, okay, well, let's look towards Tokyo, for example, as a potential goal.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, definitely. I think that competition particularly was the first time that I really recognised what level I was at, obviously, because there was proof, but my coach was always sore and knew what we were working towards, and he obviously did tell me that I was just like, I'm just doing my thing. I'm just training. You know, we'll think about the rest later. So, definitely after the selection, I made it more of my, well, in the non-selection, I made it more of my focus, realising that, you know, I still didn't necessarily be like, I need to make the Olympics. Like, that still wasn't what I was pushing for. It was the next level competition that I was at. And so, I was pushing for it because that was what I was preparing for at the level that I was at then. But then knowing that actually became more difficult because you kind of push harder when you shouldn't. So, going to Melbourne was a really big decision for me and all the changes emotionally and changing coaches and physically and things like that. I wasn't that smart about it and I pushed too hard and that's why I got injuries and things like that. But I definitely learned a lot about myself and what I actually got from elite level sport and an elite level mindset. So I was, especially over the lockdown, we had lots of time to reflect and then do a little bit of personal work. So I just realised that I don't need to get to those big competitions. I need to commit myself in the way that I know is best for me. And that's gonna get me to those really awesome experiences. And that's what it is and it's an experience. And to appreciate the process and appreciate my life while I'm doing that is the most important to me. And so I've tried to step back from locking on to that one big goal and that one big moment and really enjoying my life, which is working towards it. And so I think that helps me a lot more than thinking four years in the future all the time.
BEN WATERWORTH: What's the opinion like from your athletics coaches and even your family and friends when you go, hey, so just FYI, this bobsled things come back into my life. And I think I'm going to give this a bit of a crack.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Unfortunately, my coach from WA, he passed away last year, which was really hard. Couldn't go back to the funeral because of the border closures and stuff. He was a hardcore athletics fan. So when I mentioned it the first time, he sort of just laughed at me because you'd be very good at it, but it's not what you're training for. And that was about it for that conversation. My coach that I had in Melbourne, he was really excited for me. He thought that I would just be perfect for it. And he was so supportive and really helped me. I was a bit worried about leaving athletics. It's obviously a big chunk of my life and what I've really committed to for the last sort of six, seven years. And so I was a little bit nervous about sort of having that discussion, but he was so supportive and he still supports me now. So he just thought it was the best idea because my body type and shape, if you look at break women, is very good for it. And so I fit into it really quite well because of that.
BEN WATERWORTH: I asked when we had Sarah on the show and pretty much any pops that are on, you've got to ask the cliche cool runnings question, but Sarah talked about how when she kind of decided to give it a go, basically the family went out and rented cool runnings that night. So I mean, was that something that you had to do? Like, is it just kind of like a passing, you know, tradition that anybody who decides to get into bobsled, you've got to go get cool runnings out and watch it again?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, I'm not going to lie, that definitely did happen. I was working in Ballarat at the time, so my housemates, we were all talking about it. And we were like, we've got to watch cool runnings. So we had the little family night and we all watched it. And then we would get on online and watch a whole bunch of bobsleds going down tracks.
BEN WATERWORTH: Kind of, cause that way. Do you remember sort of that process then from the, okay, I'm going to do this to, I mean, eventually we'll get to when you go to your first World Cup. But I mean, is it a case of, you've got to meet Ash, you've got to go somewhere and do some, you know, training pushes to kind of see how you'd go. I mean, kind of what's that process like from going, I'll do this to leading you to your World Cup debut?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: It was really difficult because of the lockdowns, I didn't. I was actually, I had a stress reaction in my foot when I was sort of saying to Ash, like, I'm really keen, but this injury is still niggling and I don't want to commit to you unless I know that I'm physically able to at least, you know, give it all I've got. So, you know, watch this space kind of thing. I didn't have a home garage for the final lockdown of last year, I guess. I can't remember them all, but.
BEN WATERWORTH: Too many of them.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: There was one point where I just didn't have a gym. So it was very hard to obviously do strength training. I was doing, I signed up for a hand balancing course, like a muscle handstands course, which was really working back onto all your fine little motor muscles and the controlling muscles and your ab work and everything. And that was actually a really good time for me to go back and work on the basics that you usually skip over because you just want to muscle through it and use your big muscles in the gym and things like that. So it actually really helped me a lot doing that over lockdown. But my training was mainly me getting back to be able to train because I had that stress injury. And it was really right up until I had started incorporating in, I managed to get back to WA and use the gym there. I talked to Ash's coach, strength and conditioning coach, Joel, and he was really the last kind of thing that made me really want to do it. Because I said, can I just talk to someone else? Once I commit, I'm all in. So I just want to make sure that I'm doing it for the right reasons and that I can really do this for you. I don't want to sort of say yes and then be like, oh, actually, I can't do it. So I called Jolt and he is Hungarian and he used to bobsleigh for them and he's just so passionate about it. He just loves it.
BEN WATERWORTH: We love him on social media. He's very fun to follow and a very passionate guy.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, he's very passionate about bobsled. And the thing that he brought up without me saying anything, which I think that I was looking for particularly after the isolation, was the bobsled community and how you just really feel part of it and it's supportive. And he came from athletics as well, where it's a lot more individual focused. And he just said, I think you will really love it. I think you will really be good at it and you need to try it. And I said, I think you've convinced me. So then I signed him up for my coaches and I started doing his programming. And then about a month later, I think Melbourne is going to go into another lockdown and we're going to leave a month after that to Lake Placid. Well, we're going to go to Canada. But I said to Ash, I don't know if I'll be able to leave Melbourne. Like, I'm not really sure what will happen if I get locked down. I'm in Melbourne and you're in Sydney. Will we get overseas? She's like, I don't know. And I said, well, they're going to go into lockdown tonight. And she said, do you want to just come with me? And I was like, okay. So I just packed up my stuff and I went to Sydney and I lived in Sydney for a month with her. And then we went overseas. We were going to go to Calgary, but the borders were locked to us. So then we went to Lake Placid, which is considered Asha's home track because she's had the most runs there. She learned how to drive there. And we were there for two months. They've got a brand new ice house facility. So I could learn to run on the ice. An ice house has just got a ramp and then it comes back up the other way. It's just an indoor facility. And so that was really, really beneficial for me because obviously I had never been on ice before. And if my first time was straight off the top of the hill, it would have been very difficult for me to practise technique and how to actually feel comfortable running on the ice, et cetera.
BEN WATERWORTH: So this all has happened fairly quickly then. So from the moment you've basically accepted it to where we are now recording this, I mean, what is that, like six months? Am I kind of putting that correctly?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, yeah. And so I mean, I had been thinking about it a long time, obviously. It was a couple of years since Ash first contacted me and before that, Bree had contacted me. So it's not like it wasn't in my head, but I really had to let go of athletics, I think. And that was really hard for me. And so for me to really go all in and commit, like I only said yes in, I think, end of June, maybe. And then now we're here.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, that's so crazy. Obviously, you've been talking a bit to Ash on the phone, social media and that. I can imagine when you meet her and finally get to hang out. I mean, we loved Ash on the show, Ash, just a bundle of energy. I can't imagine that doesn't exude right in person as well. I mean, how's that getting to sort of know Ash in those initial moments while obviously, I guess, trying to learn about the sport at the same time?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, she's been really great for me. I'm quite introverted. I'm very good socially. I've learned a lot of social skills. I'm a teacher by trade. But typically, I'm very introverted. I just hang out with my dog a lot. And she's really great with people. She's, like you say, she's got a bundle of energy. And she made me feel really, really comfortable. She did everything that she could to help me get organised, help me move from Melbourne. She's just like come and live with me, her and her boyfriend living together. So that's a pretty big deal. They were only in a small apartment. And she was just like, yep, do it. Let's go. We're in this together kind of thing. So she sent me up at the gym in Swiss. And obviously, we show her coach. And she really, really helped me out. And we just got along really well from the get go, which was very handy. That was a big thing for me as well. Obviously, you not necessarily have to be best friends with everyone that you work with. But if you're going to live with someone and train and brief with them for eight months, you need to have that natural kind of instant connection. So that was really good. And then we're very different personalities naturally, but we're both pretty good at working out our communication with each other. So there was a few challenges when we first got to Placid on just the words we used and trying to explain to each other what we actually mean. And once we got past that, it was really easy for us to work together.
BEN WATERWORTH: And I can imagine, too, coming from a very individual sport like athletics to then having a teammate kind of switching into a team environment. Do you find that challenging as well, that I guess working with someone, things like chemistry and that, that you're kind of alluding to there is very important. So switching focus from an individual athlete to being in a team environment.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I think for me, particularly, maybe coming from the HEP was a lot easier than maybe if you came from just an individual event. But I also really enjoy coaching and working with people as well, just to develop into kind of the best version of yourself or the best athlete you can be. So Ash always mentions to me, she's like, for an individual athlete, you're very team oriented, which is quite unusual. I just really love bringing everyone up together. I think it's really exciting like that. I think the biggest challenge for me in this situation is not that the team environment in terms of Bob said, it's that you have to travel together, you have to sleep together, you have to eat together, you have to train together. So you're around people constantly, which even with your partner or something, you would get a lot more space normally from that. And so that's the most challenging thing of this whole journey rather than actually getting along with my team. We're all very supportive of each other, very respectful of everyone's time and space and moods and everything like that. But you are on top of each other all the time in small kind of places where you're moving around week by week. And that's probably more challenging than actually working in a team, because I quite enjoy that.
BEN WATERWORTH: I always love finding out from our bobsled guests, particularly Australian bobsledders who are not necessarily growing up on this sport. You mentioned before about that potential fear factor when you think about, oh, that sounds a bit scary, that sort of stuff. What was that first time like when you got in the sled and you went down a run? Do you remember it?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Well, we got to Lake Placid in summer, so the track wasn't iced. We were just using the ice house. But there is this thing, what they call a summer bob, and it's a bobsled with wheels, and it goes down the concrete track. So we got to ride in that, one of Ashley's first driving coaches, he just down in the summer bob, and it's a four-man bob. And it goes a little bit slower than an ice bobsled, but still probably like 100k. But it's got like a roll cage on it and things, so you can actually sit up in it and look around, which as a brakeman, you jump in the back, and then you fold over and you stay as low as you can, and you don't see anything. So I think that was absolutely perfect for my first experience, because I got to see what was happening. I think if I had first jumped in and you couldn't see anything, it's quite loud and a bit bumpy. So I think it would be a very different experience. But yeah, because I got to see everything, and when you get knocked around, you kind of see what the corner is doing and things like that. It was just really fun. I didn't have any anxiety about it all, which actually surprised me, because I don't really like roller coasters or anything like that. So I think I just prepared myself so much mentally to kind of commit to it that I was like, regardless of what happens, I'm doing this. And so then I just let myself be okay with it. And so I just enjoyed it. And the first time I jumped in a real bobsled, we were at the top of Altenburg, which is one of the hardest tracks in the world. It's notorious for people crashing and things like that. So I mean, I probably had a little bit of anxiety about that, but I've never really jumped in thinking about crashing or anything like that. So it's mainly just staying relaxed and feeling what the track is doing. And yeah, I actually, I really enjoy being in the sled, which is...
BEN WATERWORTH: That's the main thing.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Which is good.
BEN WATERWORTH: You had that enjoyment out of it. Mentally, when you're in the sled, obviously, as you're saying, you're kind of heads down, you're not seeing anything. But is it a case of that you're... Obviously, your important role is to hit the brakes at the very end. So are you mentally like counting the turns, you know, sort of by feeling the sled moving, that, okay, I'm into turn three, turn four, and sort of having to keep that up so that you know when to hit the brakes perfectly at the end?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, I try, you try and learn the track a little bit, and it helps you just prepare for which corner is coming. You don't necessarily shift your weight, but you are prepared for it to go that way. So like you probably tense a little bit more to one side or whatever the corner is going to go. But sometimes it's really tricky depending on the track. Like, for example, the track here in Sigulda is very easy to count the corners. You know, it just goes kind of left, right, left, right, left, right. And they're very obvious corners, whereas sometimes there will be corners that are just sort of going up a wall and up another wall. And there are also corners that go at a corner, but the back might slide and bump you. And then you think, oh, I'm off that corner. And then you're still going that way. You get a little bit confused at what's actually happening. So in general, I try and count the corners. There's a couple of tracks where I'm just like, I don't know where I am. And then most tracks will have what they call a Kreisel, which is circle in German. And so it's a big, very big corner. And you get a lot of pressure there. The G-forces hit you a bit harder, and you kind of get squashed in half more. And my head sits on the brake. So the helmet just pushes against the brake in the Kreisel. And you know what corner Kreisel is and what number that is. And so then you can usually at least get an awareness of where you're at the track compared to where the finish line is going to be. But in general, the harder braking straights, the pilot will just start yelling at you and go, brake, brake, brake. Just in case.
BEN WATERWORTH: You want to hope they remember then. If all of a sudden they forget, then there's something going wrong with all of us.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, then we just fly off the hill.
BEN WATERWORTH: Keep on going through. I've got to ask, I mean, you mentioned you saw a bit of snow in Ballarat, but obviously when you go to a place and you see snow like you get in Europe and North America, do you remember just were you blown away, like, wow, snow, like, I mean, kind of what's that? Because snow is quite a magical thing to see, particularly if you witness it for the first time, you know, as an adult.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, we were in Innsbruck in Austria just for pre-season, and I woke up and Ash had just gone to the bathroom because we share rooms or share beds all the time. So we're usually in the same room. And she goes, Oh, look outside. It was about 6 a.m. and looked outside and there was just like snow everywhere. And I was like, Oh, and I was like, I think I'm going to go out. I'm putting on all our warm clothes, and I had my ag boots on, and I just like walked outside the door and just stepped in the snow. But it was like a little bit, it wasn't heaps of snow, so it was a little bit slushy. And she's like, and I was like, I just thought it would be a little bit harder. And so I had a look around and threw a couple of snowballs and came inside.
BEN WATERWORTH: You always spot the Australians, don't you, in these places? Like when I was living in Canada and it snowed, everyone was grumpy. It's like, Oh, how much snow is it? Shut up, why is it snow? Who cares? This is normal.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I mean, to be fair, I'm pretty much like that now. Like it doesn't make life convenient, especially when you're dragging bobsleds around.
BEN WATERWORTH: I mean, I can imagine growing up in Western Australia too, particularly where you are in Western Australia, your body gets used to a certain level of heat. So to you, I can imagine something below 20 degrees is cold. So now you're dealing with below zero, which is a different kettle of fish.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, I suppose I was pretty lucky like moving to Melbourne because Melbourne's weather is pretty atrocious. But I was very surprised how quickly I adapted here. But I was quite lucky because we transitioned with the seasons. I didn't just rock up from Australia into winter. We went to Lake Placid in summer, and then it sort of slowly started getting cold. And then we came to Europe when it was getting cold as well. So it sort of went down from kind of that 15 degrees down to... So I've probably only experienced now maybe negative five is the coldest. But this week in Sigulda, it's going to get down to like negative 15. So I'm not looking forward to my eyeballs freezing, but I have to do that, I suppose.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I'm looking here at the climate chart for Leonora, seeing that the average high in summer is about 35, 37. So yeah, a bit of a difference.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, I think I was talking to dad the other day, he's like, what's the temperature there? And I was like, I think it's zero at the moment, one degree maybe. And he's like, there's 42 here.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, there's a big discrepancy there. What was that like in Innsbruck, your World Cup debut, you and Ash, 17th on debut for yourself. But I mean, how is that kind of that moment when you realise that you're there, you've gotten yourself a top 20, you've obviously gotten yourself into the second round by getting into the top 20. But that journey that has led you here, you're in Innsbruck, Austria, competing in a bobsled World Cup, something you could have never imagined that you would have been doing. But I mean, how are you feeling after that weekend, your debut?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: It was really exciting. It was a bit strange, I think, maybe because of all the COVID stuff, like the training week is very similar to the race day because you can't have too many people around and things like that. So I wasn't too nervous to race. When I got on the block, I was overthinking a lot. And so after I ran, I was like, I've got so much more than that because when you race, you shouldn't be thinking, like you should have done that in training. You should just give it all you've got in a race. You shouldn't be thinking where your hands are or your toes are and all of these sort of weird things. But because I've only been off the top of the hill, like a handful of times, really, that's obviously naturally going to be a thing for me. It's just all experience. Each time I get in, I get in is still a new learning thing. I'm changing things all the time just because I'm so new to the sport. My technique changes every day that I'm down at the track or in a push track or something like that. So we were super happy with it, like to make the top 20. And I knew that there was so much more that we could give as well. And so that was really exciting to me. I never want to look at something and think that we did it perfect, because then you don't really have much more to go. So I was really excited about that, knowing that we're only going to get better. And so I think we came 19th the first week, and then we came 17th the next week. And then we headed off to Altenburg, where I first jumped in. And we pushed in Altenburg, we pushed 12th and 13th faster start time, which is really big for us. So we're getting better each week. Then there are teams that are on lower circuits. There's a couple of other circuits apart from World Cup, the North American Cup and the Europa Cup. And there's not as big a fields there. So there are teams that are kind of coming way down in the field or in times or something like that. And they're getting a lot more points than us being on the lower circuits. So it was really sort of starting to pen on our score that these teams were jumping above us in the rankings because they were on the lower circuits. So our team decided to go to North America, and there were six races pretty much in a row that Ash could do. Three monobob and three two men. And that would really boost our rankings if she could kind of come top three in them. So I couldn't really afford to blow that into my budget, flit off to America. So our other break woman, Tia Thumi, went with her, and they've done really well. They got all silver medals. So six silver medals, which is awesome. And now our ranking score has really boosted right up there. So we're back in the game. So that's really exciting.
BEN WATERWORTH: So is that a case where in terms of when it comes to deciding the pairings? Because obviously I'll talk to you in a little bit about the seventh with Bree in Winterberg at the World Cup. But I mean, are you set with Ash? Like you and Ash are the pairing, and at the moment you just kind of fluctuate between teams who work out points? Or is it the coaches are working out those pairings by looking at you in different events, and then they'll make a decision based on rankings and potential spots for the Olympics when that comes closer?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Well, in Australia, it's quite hard because the teams are self-funded and self-organised. And so they really organise and arrange their own teams. And so really you've got autonomy with your team. So I am with Ash, but obviously we are Australia. So the selection criteria is really quite complicated. And I'm not going to explain it to you because I don't fully understand it myself. But essentially, it is easier for us to qualify two sleds in a sense than it is to just qualify one, just how the rankings work and how many spots are allocated and stuff like that. And so Bree's two man sled was not doing as well as they were hoping. And her points were kind of getting a bit lower in the two men. She's obviously really killing the monobob, and she's doing really, really well in that. And so because I was in Europe anyway, we realised there was a really good opportunity for me to push with Bree and hopefully really boost her up in the two man rankings. So that's what happened, and that worked out really well for us. And now Bree's standing points are a lot higher for the two men. And then that essentially means that Asha's two men is back in contention because now we have two sleds qualifying at the moment for the Games, which is easier to get than the one sled. And so now from now on, from Christmas, we will be working as Australia just to kind of make sure we're looking at it, looking at the numbers and looking at what's the best way to get both our sleds there, because that would be awesome for Australia. I don't think there's been many, if any, times that sleds have qualified outright. In the past, there has been an Oceana rule, or a continental rule, which means that if your country has a team and they're the best team, they get to go to the Olympics for being there. But now, with all the COVID stuff and everything, you have to hit a certain standard to qualify. You can't just go if you have a team from your country. So that's really big. That's really big for Australia if we can qualify two sleds.
BEN WATERWORTH: Absolutely.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: We're pretty excited for that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which must be pretty exciting then too with the seventh that you got with Breen Winterberg. I mean, it's an Australian highest place finish ever in a two-woman bobsled, if I believe so. I mean, that must be a pretty special feeling.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yes, she told me that the other day. So we pushed nine, I think, and the first drive she was just trying to get this corner right. And it was just one little steer. She was a bit mad at herself. And then we pushed nine, I think, in on the second run and she drove phenomenally. So we got to stand in the winner's box. So essentially on the second run, everyone comes off in reverse order. So if you're 20th, you'll come off first. And then you stand in the winner's box. And then if the next one comes down faster than you, then they swap into the winner's box. And so essentially, you know what placing you are as everyone comes down. So theoretically, the next person should knock you out. But we got to stand there for about five places because we moved from 11th to 7th. So it's kind of a weird feeling because you're watching the screen hoping that the other person does really poorly. And then you're like... I'm so sorry. But it was really exciting. We got to stand there for a long time. And then the Canadians come down, and we beat a couple of the Canadians, which is pretty big for a tiny nation like Australia. So that was a very exciting moment for us. And then we got knocked out.
BEN WATERWORTH: We were sort of a co-Canadian Australian podcast. So I'll just say on behalf of Australia, thank you for beating so that Colin can't go about his side of the... They're winning too many medals at the moment.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: The Canadians have been so lovely, so helpful to us. So we're always stoked about how they go, but from a small nation, it was very exciting.
BEN WATERWORTH: So obviously, Kiara, we're recording this last week, basically, pretty much of the year. The time we're releasing this will be a little bit closer to Beijing. But how's your mind right now with that prospect that in a couple of months, you could be an Olympian. This is something that as you're saying, it's not something you necessarily always strive towards, but it's a very realistic possibility. I mean, how are you feeling about that possible prospect?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: To be honest, I don't think about it that much. I don't try to think about it that much. Obviously, you need to get yourself organised. And there are a few things now that I have to make sure that I'm organised with just to make sure that those plans can be in place. But I think particularly for me, like for the Commonwealth Games trials, we finished competing on the Friday, and I didn't find out to the Monday that I didn't get selected. And most people were pretty certain that I would get selected coming second at trials. And so to get that taken away after you're so prepared for it was really, really challenging for me. And so I think for this, even though I know that it's a very real possibility, I don't think I am allowing myself to focus on it or get too excited about it, because I'd rather get that phone call and then almost be surprised, then hang on to it and kind of go, yeah, I've got this in the bag. And then something very political happens. For me, I'm just focusing on what I'm doing now. And being the best that I can be, like in every moment that I'm sort of, I'm doing it. And I think that's enough for me. Like I want, you know, like I'm very, very lucky to come in to this sport and into the situation that I have. And I've worked very hard, but I also know and acknowledge the luck that is involved with me being able to do so well in such a short amount of time. So this is all an experience for me, and anything else is just icing on the cake, I think.
BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic, fantastic. No, it's obviously such a unique journey to be able to sort of take where you're at to kind of be here and sort of seeing how that's going to play out. I'm going to close this out with a set of fun questions that we like to do with all our guests. But just quickly, a couple of things before I do. I've pushed this to Brie, I've pushed this to Ash, I've pushed this to Sarah, I have to push it to you now too, Kiara. The sled. Just saying, you are going to the Olympics, we're just saying, we're positive on this show. I have no athletic ability at all. I still strive to become Tasmania's first ever Winter Olympian, but now that Dean and Tali have qualified in curling, I think my sports are getting lower and lower. So the best I can hope for is that you'll name the sled after me. So can you really push... I know Ash's boyfriend is called Ben, so it kind of works on both sides here. Can we call the sled Ben? Can you help put in a good word for me, please?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I mean... Ben is not a sled name.
BEN WATERWORTH: Come on, it's sort of sled-ish.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I mean, I could... I will mildly probably not push for it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Good. That's good enough for me, I think. But I mean, I think as Ash mentioned, you know, you got to have a female name, usually. I mean, Beninda could work, you know? Beninda? I don't know. Somewhere, somewhere. The other thing that I also would like to try and do is, obviously, during the coverage of the Olympics, Channel 7 will probably do some nice little packages on you all, give you some nice little interviews, all that kind of stuff. Sneak in some words there. We're trying to get you to get some sort of word in to see if you can kind of play this. Now, going through your Instagram, looking here, you know, I don't know if this is a hobby or a talent, the ukulele I'm seeing here, something that may be there. So maybe like we can use the word... Your lockdown, there you go. So, I mean, maybe we could just throw in the word ukulele when you're being interviewed by like Mel McLaughlin or something like that. That's not too hard of a word, maybe. Yeah.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, I think it could sneak in there very subtly. I don't think anyone would notice.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly. Yeah, there you go.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Perfect.
BEN WATERWORTH: I mean, we're getting, we're getting, Dean and Tali, we're really trying to get them because they're big on the friends quotes. So we've said that they could go viral by being the curlers at the Olympics who drop friends quotes. Like, could that be any more of a good curl? Like, simply like that. So we're trying to get some things out there that can really, you know, bring in the kids and the fans to the sport. And ukulele lovers would go off for that sort of stuff, Kiara.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: So, you know, maybe I'll just like carry a ukulele around with me. Hey, just be background.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yes. Or you could bring it in the sled, and you could be playing the ukulele while Ash is driving, and you'll be the musical bobsled team. You could be doing the some people say, no, we don't believe Jamaica has a bobsled team. Change it to Australia, and then you've got a perfect, perfect thing right there.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I think it would be pretty easy to do on the right, dear.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly. There's no complications with that at all. As I said, Kiara, we like to close out a series of sort of fun, random questions. Now, as always, these are based on a questionnaire that Team Canada gave their athletes ahead of both Rio and Pyeongchang. And I'm using, as always, we like to try and get an athlete from the same sport. We've got a bobsledder, Alicia Risling, who I've been seeing has been doing okay at the moment at the current World Cup. I don't know how often you get to bump shoulders with Alicia there, but she seems to be... Right, okay. Well, from what I can see, she's doing quite well with that. So these are simple questions. I like to say simple. And there's two drawing elements. Now, again, look through Instagram. You've got a bit of a skill here. You are a bit of a drawer. So we like to give homework if you want to. And I will say the only time that guests on the show have drawn has been Sarah and Ash. So you could be the third bobsledder and kick their asses into the drawing.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: No, I really...
BEN WATERWORTH: No pressure at all, Kiara. Sarah won. We put it out to our listeners about who was a better drawer. Yeah. So look, I think you can trump looking at your drawing on your Instagram, but we'll get to those. First question for you today. What is your favourite all-time Olympic moment?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I just really love watching the Olympics in general. I know that's really, you know, it's not a moment, but I like the moment of the Olympics. I love all of the world coming together for something really common. And they don't worry about anything else, you know, and every performance, regardless of, you know, particularly, even if it's not winning gold or stuff, you can see what it means to that country or that person or something when they do well or when they put everything they have on the line. And I like watching those as a collective thing. So there's not one particular moment that I think that stands out for me. I think watching the Olympics is always like quite emotional for me, like just watching people achieve everything that they've put into it, I think is really special.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great answer. I like that. And I feel like I'm that guy who, as soon as the opening ceremony is starting and they've got the countdown going on and I'm watching it, I've got a bit of a tear in my eye. Like the Olympics are here, like it's real. I'm busy for the next 16 days. No one disturbed me. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Probably to just, I mean, this is really basic, but like teleport, like to just be where I want to be. Make bobsledding much easier if you could take the sled with you in your teleport. But just because I like a bit of fluidity, I like trying new things, but it often takes you away from family and friends. And it would be really nice to see them whenever you want to. That would be cool.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great answer. I like it. Now, there's an obvious answer for this one, but who knows? Your favourite sports movie is?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Actually, my favourite sports movie is Coach Carter.
BEN WATERWORTH: Ah, okay. There we go. Actually, it's a great movie too. But I'm glad we didn't just go, yeah, Cool Runnings, you know. Cool Runnings, great movie, of course, as well. But yeah, I like Coach Carter. Yeah, it gets answered a bit, actually. It's been a while since I've seen that. But yeah, Samuel L. Jackson. You can't go wrong with that, right? So, you know, why not? Now, this is a drawing, so this is draw a picture of yourself. So, I don't know how you're at that skill with it, but if you want to. Do I have to do it now? Not right now, no, no, of course not. We're not going to sit here for, you know, and just while you doodle. But like, again, homework, if you feel the urge, you know, look back at what Ash and Sarah did. Come on, please, amateurs, like, draw away. Show them how it's done. So, no pressure at all, no pressure at all. Your funniest childhood memory is?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Funniest childhood memory? I grew up on a farm, so... I feel like most of my memories would be quite funny to most people. I don't know. I can't think of anything specific.
BEN WATERWORTH: Add it to the homework. We're just the homework podcast, apparently. Good, yes, exactly. I don't want you at the top of the hill in Beijing and go, Oh, there's the answer. Damn it. Could have been two seconds faster on the start then. Thanks, Ben. There you go. Now, I love... Ash on her interview talked up that she basically had playlists for every single track she would go to there. I don't know if you kind of vibe on that, but question here, your favourite pump up song is. So again, I don't know if you have a different one for every track, like Ashwood, or you've got one that just gets you in the zone.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Well, we've actually... Ash has a different track for every track. A different song for every track that she drives, and she sings it on the way down, apparently, or at least vibes it. And I'm like, is that helping you? I hope that's helping you concentrate. We started doing a thing where... We were actually here in Suguru for pre-season, and we were going to the track, and Ellie Goulding's Still Falling For You came on, and that's a really easy song to yell at. And so sometimes when you go to the track, it's cold and it's dark, or it's just a bit miserable while you're driving to the track. So we just started shouting to it. And so from then, we started trying to find songs for each place that we had to shout songs as we go to the track. But Ellie Goulding's Still Falling For You is a very good one that gets us pumped up because you can really scream that one.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like it. I like it. It sort of works. And I think Colin, yeah, our co-host, he often takes these songs and adds it to his own playlist so that when he's, you know, off having a run or something like that. So I'm not sure if he's got any Ellie Goulding on his list, but he...
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, it doesn't sound like a pump up song because, you know, it's not. But like, you can shout it. And so that...
BEN WATERWORTH: Some of those are the best, though, I find. Like, when you've got a song that gets you in the zone, like, I've got... I'm at the gym and, like, you've got your gym list, right? And there's this one song that I put on, which, like, I just all of a sudden want to sprint. Like, it just pumps you up in the zone. And you just... You don't care. Like, you just... You're in that zone. And then you realise, oh, fuck, I'm really tired.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: The one we had for Eagles was The Greatest Showman.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yes.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I don't know what it's called, the main one.
BEN WATERWORTH: The opening, like, the, ladies and gentlemen, this is the thing you've been waiting for. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Not that one?
BEN WATERWORTH: Or the This Is Me?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah, This Is Me.
BEN WATERWORTH: This Is Me. Okay. Yep.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: That one's a fun one.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great soundtrack. The entire movie actually has a fantastic sound. Lots of songs on that one you can have. So, yeah. The most recent TV show that you binge watched is?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I binge watched TV, probably Outlander, I think.
BEN WATERWORTH: Did you enjoy it?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yes, I did. I don't watch a lot of TV. I usually just watch Friends on repeat.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hey, that's the answer for everything. That should just be standard.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Yeah. So, I think that's the most recent one I've watched.
BEN WATERWORTH: You need to bump shoulders with Dean and Tarly at that opening ceremony. You need to be, you know, what's your favourite friends quote, you know, just kind of going on there. Which friend are you? Like, who do you relate most with?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I think probably Chandler.
BEN WATERWORTH: Okay, good answer. Yep. And who's Ash? Is Ash a bit of a, you know, I think she'd be a bit of a Chandler, wouldn't she?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: No, I don't think she'd be a Chandler. I think she'd be a combination of the girls.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Just got a little bit of everyone in there.
BEN WATERWORTH: That works. That works. The next drawing is draw a picture of one of your teammates, so you can draw a picture of Ash as well. So I'm sure she'd appreciate that. We're mean on this show sometimes. I love this one because it's always well and good to answer your favourite foods, but what are your least favourite foods?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I'm really boring with these questions. What don't I like? I really like everything.
BEN WATERWORTH: You really like everything. Okay. Has there been a food like when you're travelling, like if you're in Latvia or something like that, like a local food which you've tried and gone, this isn't for me or things like that?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I mean, the guy got us these treats the other day. Most of them are really nice. One of them was these meringue things. And I don't even know what they were. They were not that nice. But I would still eat them because I eat everything. I mean, the harder, like I try to avoid too much gluten, and it's very hard to do when you're in Europe travelling around. So I mean, that doesn't make me that comfortable all the time. But I really do eat everything. There's not much that I'm too sad about.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's probably a good thing then. If you're not picky, just get everything and just go for that. If you weren't an athlete, what would you be?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Some sort of professional student, I think. In academia, I really enjoy study. I really enjoy learning. And so I mean, alongside my athletic career, I've studied and I've got my degrees. But I would probably go into my first degree is conservation and wildlife biology. I really wanted to work in a zoo, some form of zoology. And I was going to before I started athletics, when I graduated, go and work with orangutans in Borneo. And so I think maybe I would go down the animal path and do things with them.
BEN WATERWORTH: I can't imagine there would be too many ex Olympians who then once they retire, go into working with orangutans in Borneo. So I mean, that would be a very unique thing you could potentially still do.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Something else random for my life.
BEN WATERWORTH: Take it off the bucket list. There you go. Your favourite vacation spot is?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: My family, every two years, we go camping. And we actually go further into the desert. My dad very much enjoys the desert. So yeah, it's a bit weird, but I really enjoy being out there. We take all our family out there. We go for two weeks, and the space and the sort of serenity out there is probably like my favourite experience. Probably the place in Australia, I really like Esperance. It's so beautiful. Overseas now, I've seen a lot more. But I think for a vacation, I still love Australia. I would probably go back home.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's the correct answer. Let's be honest. That's the one to go with there. If you could be an Olympian in any other sport besides your own, what would it be? Hey, yes. It's flavour of the month right now.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I think I would really enjoy the modern pentathlon.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hey, I'm wearing the t-shirt right now. I've got the Australian modern pentathlon. It's kind of hidden there. Queen Chloe has made this sport a thing in Australia. I think I would be reasonable at that. You can work on that. We're big fans on the show of sports which involve multiple disciplines. So modern pentathlon, decathlon, heptathlon, Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics. These to me are the sports in which it's at, because you can run in a straight line, sure, but if you've got to then throw a discus and jump over a bar, I mean, come on, that involves some skills. Just talk it all up, keep going out there. What is something that people usually describe you as?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Maybe determined, maybe.
BEN WATERWORTH: Determined works, yes. That's a good answer. You'd want to use that to your advantage all the time. Live up to that one. Last question for you today. What are your guilty pleasures? Now, I'll just jump in here and say that Alicia said Starbucks, cinnamon buns and basketball sports.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Oh, cinnamon buns is a very good one. In America, I ate a lot of cinnamon buns. Guilty pleasures. On days where I'm just like, I just have a bad day, I eat a lot of snacks. I get the slightly salty, slightly sweet popcorn, and then some chocolate, and I'll probably get a pizza. And then I just lay in bed watching movies all day. That's probably...
BEN WATERWORTH: Great answer. That's what we all secretly want in life, right? If that was an Olympic sport, I would be in with a shot.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Most people would be winning.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think so. Yes, exactly. There is another drawing I want to draw. If you were an animal, what would it be? And it says, draw and explain. And I like... Alicia's drawing a wolf, and she's written with it, why do you guys keep making me draw? So, you can put that as a caption if you like.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: That's another homework one.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's not like having an Olympics to train for or anything.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: I mean, come on.
BEN WATERWORTH: Come on, a podcast to talk about my career. Well, you said you like to study, so... Kind of on that way. Kiara, before we let you go, social media, anything like that, people can stay up to date with your journey, follow you along the path to Beijing and beyond?
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Well, my Instagram is probably the most used. I'm not very good with social media. You won't see a lot on there, but I will try more if you guys like. Just my name, Kiara Reddingius, and all one word. That's my social media here. Very simple.
BEN WATERWORTH: Easy. And if people can't work that out, then if they're following us on social media, we obviously tag you in this post, so I'm sure they can find out there. Kiara, it has been an absolute pleasure to talk to you, to learn about your journey. Very unique journey, kind of, from the middle of Western Australia potentially to the snowy fields of Beijing. Fingers and toes crossed with everything going your way. We're saying it right now. You will be there in Beijing partnering up with Ash and kicking some arse and doing very well there. But we appreciate your time here on Off The Podium, and we'll be watching you with anticipation come Beijing very, very shortly.
KIARA REDDINGIUS: Thanks for your time.
BEN WATERWORTH: And a massive, massive thanks here to Kiara. Great chat, and just fascinating to learn about what it's like even seeing snow for the first time, going through a majority of her life without even seeing that. Because it is something that some people do take for granted, particularly living in Europe and Canada and America and other places like that. Obviously Colin would basically laugh at the prospect of having never seen snow. Whereas I guess for most Australians, it's something that is, something you generally never see. So great to hear kind of that too. And the friends quotes are alive. Really going out there to try and see if they can be used at the Olympics. We're looking forward to seeing Dean and Tali quote a lot of the friends quotes come Beijing as well. So big thanks to Kiara for her time. Great chat there, learning a lot more. As I said, at the top of this episode, we're hours away from Beijing. Just absolute right there. We're on the cusp. Get pumped, get excited. As I say, over the last few weeks, of course, we've got episodes every single day between now and the closing ceremony. Get excited. We're gonna have a preview episode. Jarrod, Colin and myself will be talking everything to do with Beijing. We're gonna have a special episode where we're gonna be playing clips from all the guests that we've had on who are going to Beijing. We're calling in our athletes to watch a Beijing episode. So essentially every guest that will be in Beijing that is officially qualified, we'll play a snippet from our interview that we have had with them to kind of get you back in the zone and remember that. And we're gonna do a lot more highlighting of them throughout the games. We did a bit of that, of course, through Tokyo, as we aim to break the curse, the curse in the purse. We sort of did break it in Tokyo. We got medals from our guests, but we yet to get a gold. We yet to get a gold from any of our guests, and also yet to have an Australian medal who has been on our show. So no pressure, Australia. Come Beijing, no pressure at all. So we'll see how that goes. But we're very much looking forward to covering Beijing for you. We love bringing you daily episodes through all of the Olympic coverage that we do. And you know that we're a bit partial to the winters over the summers. So very excited to bring it. It'll be a unique sort of games as well, because I will be in a different location working outside of this podcast for the Olympics in a way. So maybe we will discuss that slightly on our preview episode, and kind of get a bit of a vibe of what are we doing outside of recording this podcast during the Olympics. It's going to be a very busy couple of weeks, but very much looking forward to it. But Kiara, great to have her on the show. Thanks very much. Make sure you jump on social media and check her out. And while you're on social media, check us out as well. Off The Podium, as I said to Kiara there, if maybe you can't find her on social media, if you find us, we will tag her in the post. You can then follow her on there, or on Instagram, or on Twitter. We are of course on Facebook. And now on YouTube, you can see this video version of the interview on YouTube. So don't worry about staring at my face. You can stare at Kiara and see her answer those questions, obviously via video. And while you're online as well, subscribe to the podcast Off The Podium. Search for us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever podcasts are found. Leave us some feedback. We'd love to hear what you think of the show. And if you've missed any of our other episodes, great interviews, anything along those lines, you can find all the episodes on those and simply listen to them all again. You got a bit of catching up to do if you're joining us today. Head of Beijing, maybe go back and listen to some of the winter ones and some of the other athletes that will be there in the Olympics. I'll simply wait to our Beijing 22 athletes to watch one today. I've said it about five times and I'll say it again. Thanks again to Kiara for her time. My name is Ben, this is Off The Podium. Special shout out to Jason Momoa. And as always, remember, go left.
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