Beyond Sport with Fiona Stewart

OLYMPIC BONUS // Brooke Buschkuehl (Stratton)

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been glued to the TV watching the Olympics. I know growing up it was always such an exciting time getting to see all the incredible athletes show what they have got on a world stage. These athletes become hero’s to children, they are the reason that they start a sport or continue with a sport. I’m coming to you with a little taster of an episode I recorded with Olympic long jumper Brooke Stratton last year. This was an early episode of the podcast, and I really had no clue of setting up the audio – not that much has changed, but please excuse the sound quality.
 
I love the fact that Brookey was inspired by watching the Sydney 2000 Olympics and is now about to step onto the world stage for her second Olympics at Tokyo. It really shows what a bit of talent, dedication and hard work can do towards achieving your childhood dreams.I think it’s important to acknowledge that it’s not always smooth sailing for athletes to get where they are, there’s a lot of hard work and obstacles along the way, with Brookey being no exception of this. If you want to hear Brooke’s journey before she jumps please check out Season 1, Episode 6. Brooke is jumping tomorrow, Sunday 1st August I’ll be cheering her on, and I hope are too.

Maria Alexiadis OAM // PART ONE - Australian Karate competitor on the international stage, coaching and being on the Karate Victoria board

This weeks guest is Maria Alexiadis, an Australian Karate competitor who competes on the international stage. I had a chat with Maria whilst she was in hotel quarantine after returning from the Olympic qualifiers in Paris.
Maria not only competes, but also coaches and is on the Board of Karate Victoria, hoping to make a positive impact on her sport. In this episode you’ll hear Maria’s journey and the passion and love that she has for her sport.
 
Carol Cooke's book mentioned at the start of this episode can be found here;
https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-force-within-carol-cooke-am/book/9781920785031.html
 

OLYMPIC BONUS // Steph Kershaw

 It’s official, the Olympics have started!! I’m coming to you today with a little bonus episode, or I guess a soundbite of an earlier episode of season two. With the Australian Women’s Hockey team set to play their first game in the Olympic competition tomorrow, the 25th JULY, here’s a snippet of my episode with Hockeyroo Steph Kershaw.
This was recorded earlier in the year, before the Olympic team selection and I was so stoked when Steph secured her place on the team and making her Olympic debut.  
I love that Steph grew up in a family playing hockey and that she still loves the sport to this day. If you want to know a little behind the scenes into a Hockeyroo’s life and get to know Steph, you can listen to the full episode, season 2 episode 4, wherever you are listening to this. Wishing Steph and the entire Hockeyroo team all the best over the next few days of competition.

Carol Cooke AM // PART TWO - FOUNDER OF 24 HOUR MEGA SWIM, Paralympian, 9x World Champion, Author and Speaker.

Welcome to part two of my chat with Carol Cooke, in last weeks episode Carol took us through her early years of being a 7 year old with a dream to 40 years later achieving it. If you haven’t listened, hit pause and go back and listen to the journey.
In this episode Carol takes us through the benefits sport has provided her, the lessons she’s learnt and the interesting backstory of how she came to be the founder of the 24 hour mega swim.
The 24 hour mega swim is an event I first discovered in 2012, and loved the concept so much that at the age of 16 I started a team and forced 14 of my friends to swim in a relay for 24 hours straight, raising money for MS. Carol takes us through the early days of starting the 24 hour mega swim and some stories of how the money raised has actually changed people’s lives.
If you’re interested in this event, or other events, like racquetball and badminton, mentioned in this episode, you can find the link in the show notes.
It was such an honour to be able to speak to Carol about some of her sporting achievements, but also learn more about an event that has been so pivotal in changing my perception on sport.

Carol Cooke AM // PART ONE - Paralympian, 9x World Champion, Author and Speaker... it all started as a 7 year old with a dream!

Today, I’m coming to you with such an incredible guest, someone who has inspired me since I was a teenager for not only her sporting achievements but also what she achieved before she became a Paralympian and World Champion.
Carol Cooke started off as a 7yr old who had a dream of representing her country at the Olympics. In this episode Carol takes us through her journey through her early sporting career in Canada, her MS diagnosis and her journey though rowing and then onto becoming a 9 time world champion in cycling.
https://carolcooke.com.au/
Carol is truly inspiring, and I couldn’t help but ask her more and more questions, so part two will be released next Monday, make sure you hit following so you don’t miss the drop of that episode.
 

Cam Elliott // PART TWO - amazing lessons and an interesting view on drugs in sport

Welcome to part two of my chat with Cam Elliott, the amazing performance coach who looks beyond the athlete to the human standing in front of him. If you have not listed to part one, hit pause and go listen to that now, this episode will be waiting for you when you come back.
In this episode we chat about the lessons Cam has learnt along the way as well as an interesting perspective on the future of sport, in particular the place of performance enhancing drugs in sport.

Cam Elliott // PART ONE - the journey of a performance coach

Today we are joined by Cam Elliott a performance coach who looks beyond the athlete in front of him to the human that’s behind the athlete. My chat with Cam is split into two parts with this first part exploring what Cam does, how he got into the world of performance coaching and his motivation behind doing it.
Before we get started, I’d just like to thank each and every listener for tuning into the podcast, I hope you’re not only enjoying the content but also feeling heard with some of the experiences that each one of the amazing guests bring. In saying that make sure you head over to Instagram and give the page a follow @beyondsportwithfionastewart, this is where you can find exclusive behind the scenes content as well as a sneaky picture or two of my Labrador puppy Harry. If you have any feedback, topic or guest suggestions, send it through to me – I’d love to hear from you!
Okay, that’s enough from me, lets hear from Cam.

Sarah Blackmore // PART TWO - benefits, lessons and the wonderful ninja community

Welcome to part two of my chat with Sarah Blackmore, gymnast, gymnastics coach and Ninja Warrior. If you haven’t listened to part one, released last week – hit pause and go back and listen to it now! In this episode Sarah share’s the wonderful benefits sport has given her as well as the lessons she’s learnt along the way. We also gain some insight into her incredible charity events and fundraising efforts.
Sarah’s energy and passion left me feeling so lit up – so I hope after listening to this chat you feel just as full as I did.
Find information about the Paul Lyons Foundation in the link below. 
http://ninja.org.au/the-paul-lyons-foundation/

Sarah Blackmore // PART ONE - Gymnast, passionate Gymnastics coach and Australian Ninja Warrior

We are joined by the incredible Sarah Blackmore, gymnast, gymnastics coach and Ninja Warrior. Sarah represents everything this podcast is about, using her passion for sport to help positively impact others.
My chat with Sarah will be split into two parts, with part two being released next Monday!
In this episode we learn about Sarah’s start to gymnastics and the work she is now doing as a coach, and in advocating for the future of the sport. As well as getting some insight of how she got involved in the Ninja community.
You may have seen Sarah’s face, and amazing ninja skills pop onto your TV’s last year, and might have even seen her pop up in this year’s trailer for Ninja Warrior, which airs this Sunday, 20th June on channel 9.

Tom Dade // the incredible world of ultra running and mountaineering

This weeks guest is Tom Dade, an ultra runner who thrives off challenging himself to push beyond the limits through some extraordinary adventures. Tom and I chatted virtually last week – as we are both in Melbourne experiencing lockdown number 4, about the incredible things that he has achieved at the age of 22, as well as some of the challenges he has faced along the way.
Tom’s got a strong message to believe in yourself and that you are more capable than what you think, this chat certainly inspired me, so I hope you enjoy this episode.
Before we jump in, just a quick warning that we do briefly touch on eating disorders early on in this episode, so if this is triggering for you, please feel free to skip the 6 and a half minute mark. If you do want to learn more or need assistance, there’s many great organisations out there, one being the butterfly foundation – where you can find the link to this in the show notes.
https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/
Find Tom on Instagram @tomdade11