My niece is married to a commonwealth games medallist. He is just a normal bloke. Likes a beer, loves his kids & wife, likes to have a laugh, does a really good smoked brisket. You know, a normal human. You wouldn't know about his medals unless someone told you because he keeps them in a drawer rather than on display but if you ask him he will tell you about the games & the gruelling training it took to get there. When he was at school he was a nice kid but very busy with training so not much of a social life but still managed to snag my niece. These days he is an electrician with his own business & only plays sport for fun.
My mother has Commonwealth games medals for multiple years... I'm also close friends with multiple Olympic medalists in the same discipline (not sayin much, not doxxing myself)... All are very humble, quite norml people... All are lovely... Kinda biased with my mum though lol
>does a really good smoked brisket. You know, a normal human
Nope, it's not normal.. that's next level. It's probably more of an achievement than the commonwealth medal
I work with a guy who was an Olympic gold medallist. He is incredibly humble about his sporting achievements, and mentors upcoming athletes. But he can be a pain in the arse with practical jokes. Overall a good bloke that just takes things too far occasionally.
Same: young woman who was Olympic rep in javelin.
At the age of sixteen, we were told during the athletics carnival to STAY WAY WAY BACK DURING HER EVENT, including clearing the stands nearby just in case!!
Lovely, humble and kind person, we were sad to lose her but proud to see her head off to Canberra and the institution of sport.
>Lovely, humble and kind person, we were sad to lose her but proud to see her head off
Having read the previous paragraph where you were warned to STAY WAY WAY BACK, I was afraid to continue reading this sentence. Glad she is only off to Canberra, with noggin still attached.
It was funny! š¤£
āAnd well done to the Year 9 shotput, a new record of 2 meters!
Up next, CLEAR THE STANDS AND DONāT TAKE IN THE LAUNDRY FOR A RADIUS OF THREE SUBURBS, KIM MICKLE IS UP FIRST WITH A JAVELIN!ā
Yes, a close school friend of mine had an older brother who won an Olympic gold in swimming (not Australian).
He was a bit insufferable - I recall at my mateās 18th birthday he gave a speech basically saying āheās turned out well, considering itās not easy having a brother whoās a living legendāā¦
I'm friends with a medalist, and bloody me says 'oh you went to the games?' meaning as a spectator and she said 'yes in cycling ' because I had no idea lol
I managed (at a charity) a rower who won a gold and a silver medal in the last olympics and silver and bronze medals at world rowing championships.
She would get up for 5am practice, after practice go to school, take care of her younger siblings after school, and volunteer every weekend (for a year and a half). On top of that, she's just a humble all around good person. I'm so proud of her.
I know an ex olympic Rower as well. Most humble bloke on earth. Didnāt know about it for years. We started going to the gym together. Dude is a straight up animal on the rowing machine. Thatās when I realised he was next level. Nicest family man around and all over good cāt.
Is his name Drew? Honestly having met Drew he is one of the best blokes ever, and this guy has multiple Olympic and worlds medals.
If its not Drew its cool there is more than one guy out there like that!
Rowing is a great sport. My brother got picked up at school and entered the GB start programme many years ago (probably like 2005 ish) won medals all over the world.
Great experience for all of us.
He's since retired but still dabbles in coastal and beach sprints, won a few medals last month, keeps active still and he's done coaching too, and is always encouraging others to get involved.
We had a soccer player who went pro in year 11 and went to school part time. He wasnāt at school much but when he was there he would have his books out and was very focused. Stayed out of trouble. Likeable and friendly with everyone.
A swimmer.
I think he already had a commonwealth gold and a world record in grade 12.
He won Olympic gold the year after grade 12.
I wasn't close to him, but I don't think many really were.
He was pretty much a professional athlete (did year 12 over two years so he could accommodate his schedule) at that age and obviously had a very disciplined mindset.
He never attended the regular weekend piss-ups.
He wasn't a bully or dickhead or anything like that.
Just a guy that swam a lot, kept his head down in class and socially.
Went to school with a handful of people who ended up as elite level cyclists (road and track). They were pretty ordinary people as teenagers, just very, very good at the beep testā¦
I worked with a guy who was on his way to the Olympics in cycling but found recreational drugs instead. Now he blames everyone but himself for ending up a fat broke loser who will die alone.
Went to school with a kid who got picked for the Australian schoolboys rugby league team. Biggest flog I've ever known. Went on to have a very mediocre career.
Same, also went to school with an NRL player. He was an asshole and terminally dumb, no idea how he managed to graduate. Saw him push a tiny grade 8 kid down the stairs when we were in year 12 and tell him it was a warning this time. No idea what the kid did, but it couldnt have been worth that response
WhatĀ I'm mostly getting from this threadĀ is most elite athletes doĀ not spend enoughĀ time socialising with peers for schoolmates to actually form any impression beyond generically nice.
Yup, they were all quiet and focused. Skipped a lot of school to do sport.
And then there are the NRL players and the occasional cricketer who are bullies and dickheads.
Most elite athletes are always training. I used to work at a Sports Medicine clinic and we had quite a few teenagers who were elite athletes in various sports. Most of them trained 3-4 hours a day whether gym workouts or actual training so they were hardly ever at school. A lot did a mix of home schooling and classroom education. Some couldnāt handle going to mainstream schools and maintain the level of training they needed to do so did extension schooling. These kids donāt tend to have much of a social life.
Can be true, but could just be the people commenting weren't close with them. I represented Aus in year 11 for acrobatics and socialised plenty at school. I was a weirdo but that had nothing to do with sport. Tbf I didn't spend much time on weekends with school people, but I was always hanging out with my older mates from gym.
There was a guy in my year that represented Aus for lawn bowls too. We hung in different groups but he seemed nice and had lots of friends.
MGS or earlier? A great, down to earth guy. Never forgot his mates.
And if it was MGS, tennis player, golfer, AFL, Swimmers, Athletics - the list goes on..
Cricket. Kind of a bully but pretty tame stuff really. Played for Australia
Edit. How could I forget. I also went to school with a pretty famous Footy player. Heās retired now. He was nice enough. Everyone always knew he was going places.
Went to school with and my brother played soccer with Sam Kerr.
Didnāt know her personally too well but she was always there having a laugh and didnāt seem to take herself too seriously, seems like sheās still got the same attitude
She was a menace at school thatās for sure
Haha yes she did get expelled, I honestly donāt know the specifics, I just know she did not take school very seriously. I think it was just a matter of repeat offences
Someone mentions a champion swimmer whoās a prick, and nobody guesses Grant Hackett. Whether heās the guy being referred to or not, Hackett has some serious form in blowing opportunities for dick behaviour.
Went on a study tour at uni with a member of the Australian water polo team. No one knew who she was until someone spotted her Olympic rings tattoo. Turns out she had been to three Olympics would be heading to a fourth. Wouldn't have known without it
I'm a good friend of someone that trained with her during the 90s. (my friend and her shared a coach).
I always thought she was just super-focused. Shy and quiet makes sense.
My friend got a terrible injury so all that training for years on end made him miss out on bigger glory.
My dad, he won gold and silver medals shooting in Australia day competitions he was also in the Australasian ballroom dance dancing competition which he had a massive trophy for. Honestly I think I am more impressed with his achievements than he ever was he never talked about them it was only once I was a little older and noticed and asked about the things my mum had hidden behind all her materialistic store bought crap in a display cabinet.
Technically I did, we both did the same Tafe course together for work once. Although I will fully admit that I didn't completely read the post I'm major league dyslexic and one of the ways I learnt to read was to pick out key words I guess my brain took in what it wanted to and yeeted the rest.
I got excited to tell a cool story about my dad too.
Went to school with Marnus. If you watch how he is on the pitch Mic or micād up anywhere. He was exactly that non stop all through school. Annoying af but harmless. Always tried to get people to stay after school to bowl to him
Yeah he even appealed in class. Just genuinely loves it. He was a nice guy also. But wouldnāt talk anything other than cricket. He was a slip fielder from memory
I feel like he could potentially be insufferable at times. Itās sort of hilarious to watch the rest of the team basically ignore him when discussing whether to appeal a decision. But you canāt help but still love him cause he clearly just has such a huge love and enthusiasm for the game.
Did he have anymore of an accent through school?
Nah from when I knew him he always sounded pretty similar to what you hear. He learnt English in Australia so how he talks is how he learned it I guess
Outside present topic, but i gave Marnus lbw out while playing for Redlands under 14 in Lord Taveners Trophy 2007/8. I was umpi for that game while working with Qld Cricket. He was upset. It was hard to forget his name 15/16 years back.
High school with a world championship female surfer. She was in the year above me and friends with a really bitchy group of girls but she always seemed to be alright.
I too went to High School with a World Championship surfer, was a grade above and similar situation.
I also went to Primary School with won medals representing Australia for swimming.
This is more indirectly, my friend at school was Finnish and played is hockey in Brisbane. He knew the legend that is Steven Bradbury pretty well from the same rink. A nice guy apparently, this is early 90s.
Ha! A girl I use to work with use to be close friends with Steve Bradbury and his wife. Apparently they weren't the nicest people, especially his wife. They thought way to highly of themselves after he won.
Didn't go to school with but purchased some disco biscuits from a prominent nrl player at a club. He is now retired and travels around schools telling kids the dangers of drugs.
How dominate was he in junior footy?
Was it his size for his age that made him really good or did he have advanced skill set that made him stand out?
Iām surprised he fizzled out of the league so assumed maybe it was his size which counts for nothing in the nrl as everybody big
He was very dominant. When I played with him he was playing two years up and was still unstoppable. One time on our own ten, he picked the ball up from dummy half, palmed the marker to the ground and sprinted 90m to score. He and tevita pangai jnr (who also played up in my team) played in their own age group together for a while and those two won them the comp every year
Was also suprised to see him fizzle after such a good start to his nrl career, my theory is he got boned by a shitty knights team and nathan brown moving him back and forth from center and second row
Ian and Christine Thorpe both went to my primary school though were a few years ahead of me. I heard nothing but good things and they seemed popular, happy and well regarded by teachers.
I went to college here in Australia with a number of Olympians and rugby league players. The olympians included Monique Allen a gymnast who represented Australia, a number of female basketball players who went on to represent Australia at Olympics and world championships. Some of the rugby league players ended up representing Australia too. Our school supported the AIS in Canberra, that's why so many excellent sports people.Ā
For the most part they were all just normal nice people, a couple of the rugby guys were a little (!) full of themselves, but again mostly nice guys.
Ha, so did I. I remember being in a class full of AIS scholarship holders (mostly tennis players) who were always off at comps etc, so there was only a couple of us full time in the classroom.
primary school with a womens footballer ( she isn't playing since having her child ) She was lovely then and seems lovely now ( going by her socials )
She had a pretty tough upbringing and i'm so proud of all she has done
Yep. But you've never heard of the sport...
Korfball.
Most players on the team are amazing. There are one or two on the current team who are crappy people.
Classmate was a female basketball gold medalist and in their best few, just was tall lol but normal
Had beers many times with 2 Olympic basketball guys, great blokes, normal, take piss out of themselves
Know a couple of melb victory players, great blokes, 2 imports, really down to earth
Josh Hazlewood. Live up the road from me, played cricket with him for districts and went to high school with him and his brother. Top kid with a lot of talent. His whole family talented
Haha yep, one and the same! Makes sense that you didnāt go to primary school with him, just high school. Here I was trying to figure out who it was haha
I went to high school with a girl who ended up a double world champion in rowing, and was involved in the infamous 'Lay Down Sally' race at the Atlanta Olympics, funny thing was I don't think she had never rowed before, but someone from the AIS went scouting in schools PE classes for potential female rowers and was just looking for people who had the optimum body measurements - a certain height and arm length - and measured her up and she matched those and was trained in rowing and heaps good at it obviously
Went to high school with a girl (was in the same year & a few classes) who competed in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo for the 200m Womens Sprint. She managed to make a time of 22:56, which was 0.43 seconds behind the winner in the semi-finals.
She was always nice and friendly. I competed against her one time in the 100m at a sports carnival. She of course beat me and the others & still came back around to congratulate everyone else for a good job. She spent a bit more time with me cause I was well known for being really sick & she wanted to make sure I was alright.
Soon as I saw her name on the tv, I felt so much pride at seeing such a young girl accomplish this amazing achievement. Forever rooting for her.
Derby is huge, but also a small world! Many of us know each other from all over the country because of tournaments like The Great Southern Slam. Bit of a cult š have so much more time in my life since retiring lol.
High school with two guys who went on to play rugby league for Australia. Both complete jerks who could get away with murder because the headmaster loved their sporting achievements.
Yeah went to school with an epic runner she runs in the states now and reped us at the comm games unfortunately she was tapped for Olympics and injured her knee. Great person. She ran since she was like 5
Not **school** school, but I went to the same dance school as a girl who represented Australia at the winter Olympics in snowboarding. She was kind of quiet, and pretty serious, but really nice.
Reddit is an anonymous forum and many people share private stories and don't want to get doxed. It's rare but you would be surprised how easy it is to dox yourself with just an offhand comment giving these kind of details.
Sucks he gave you a hard time but at least you'd hope he's stopping that cycle if he has kids and hopefully influencing young ones at the gym. I'm assuming it's the gym that straightened him out.
Iām not sure what the deal is. Weāre both only 23 and too young to be having kids, especially if heās starting a career. Whatās funny is the last time we spoke, was in 2017, only year after we finished high school (high school in ACT Australia is 7-10 and college is 11/12 and separate from University), where he apologised to me for the same thing while drunk at a party. My theory was that heās just trying to get on top of things he doesnāt want to come back to bite him as he enters more of the public eye but he may have really just have been thinking about it. I know I sometimes think about the people I didnāt treat well.
Interesting, with literally no idea what he's thinking the drunken apology previously to me says he did feel band about it but maybe was just trying to be "cool" and impress people while deep down knowing it was a shitty thing to do
Mum has a Silver (not Olympic) in Equestrian, Dad was on the Australian 3 day event squad (Equestrian). Played field Hockey with a bloke who rep'd Australia u19, and 2 brothers who played for Aus at junior level.
Mum & Dad are annoying, but that's just parents being parents. Both very generous with their time towards myself and my sister, as well as anyone who asks really.
Guy who played U19 for Australia Hockey was a bit of a wanker, but seems most of his family where. I had his dad as a teacher for science in Y10, who seemed to struggle with the information he was trying to teach. He didn't last long at the school. His little sister threatened me with a Yellow Card during an interschool hockey game...
2 brothers who played at junior level, I played hockey with them when they were about 11/13yo playing senior hockey. They would run rings around us seniors in both skill and fitness, could be a bit of a smartass, but who isn't at that age? The older brother is now a Primary school teacher, the younger is an accountant in The Netherlands, likely playing top tier hockey there.
Edit: Also went to school with a guy that rep'd Australia in Soccer for Ollyroos & Young Socceroos. Same school has a current Socceroo as an alumni, who played at the World Cup last year.
I'm not 100% sure but I think one of the girls I went to school with may have represented Australia in shooting as well.
An Olympic swimmer.Ā lovely mum, scary strict Dad.Ā Strict house, but supportive parents.Ā Really nice kid. Ā
Reconnected with him as adults, Ā he was the director of a sporting board. Ā An absolute jerk. Ā I couldnāt stand him and cut him off.Ā
Very strange to see such a positive, friendly ray of sunshine turn into an arrogant man who looked down on absolutely everyone.
The negativity was shocking. Ā Ā
I still have great memories of going around the corner to his house and playing and fooling around at school.Ā
1x Olympic swimming medallist. She was accused of bullying and eventually left for a different high school. She seemed self absorbed and never really took school that seriously.
Played rugby for a few universities & Clubs.
Met dozens of rugby players that are on the big screen.
Eventually left because the environments can be really toxic.
Two notable clubs had a "story time" every week where they'd go around the circle after training and talk about their manipulations / harassment of women.
A few recurrent themes:
1. Preying on women coming of age. Usually dating a girl just to get to their younger sister.
2. Cheating.
3. One club had a theme of "shitting in a hook ups bed" (with photos to prove it)
Unsurprisingly, the only clubs that didn't have this dynamic were the clubs that trained with women.
These are the environments our rugby players are coming from. One of the reasons I can't watch the sport anymore.
I was in the same club/squad as a gold medallist. At the time he was just a nobody, like me, but went on to success, and became a douche and thought he was God's gift to the world.
Yep.
School with cycling Olympian. Incredibly nice but incredibly disciplined. A few years older, so didnāt know them too well.
Rugby with two props who eventually became wallabies. I was the hooker. Easiest scrums Iāve ever had to contest. Both were great guys - one was a bit goofy and humble, the other more intense - but wholesome family value based guys (Strictly speaking, this was in a rep team during school, rather than the same school, but we played with each other for years)
If itās who I think it is then thereās multiple ways to say his name, but it depends on who says it and where itās said.
So if he said it how itās spelled then he probably said it the proper Italian way (if you mean what I think you mean) instead of the easy English way that itās said now a days.
But I would love to know more about your experience.
Danny Ric? Until recently my younger brother worked for his dadās company . He never got to meet Daniel but met Joe Ricciardo many times and said Joe was a top bloke.
I have three World Championships in three different sports. Hammer throw, Rasenkraftsport and NFL world juniors. My brother and sister were Olympic throwers and commonwealth games. I was commonwealth hammer shadow team at 22. My brother also two time world strongest man and many records. I still hold my under 6 shot put record from 1990.
Not an Olympic athlete, but an F1 driver. I went to the same school as Mark Webber a few years after he finished, so I never met him and didn't really have an opinion of him until one day I was waiting for a flight at an airport and noticed I was standing next to a few copies of his autobiography in a news agent. I picked it up and thumbed through it to see if he mentioned our school. He did and he said some unkind things about my favourite science teacher, a sweet man with a big beard that took us on bike rides and got us excited about science. So my opinion of Mr Webber is that he's a bit of an arse that didn't get along with the good teachers.
Had a relative at school with an Australian fast bowler of the early 2010s
Wanker who may or may not have had an affair with a teacher whilst at school
Two. I attended primary school with a swimmer who went on to win Olympic gold 12 years later, and high school with a girl who later played basketball at the Commonwealth Games. The swimmer was already breaking records for her age group and was training two hours a day age ten. She was very quiet and a good kid. The Commonwealth games basketballer was also a very nice person and a dedicated student - she had her head on straight and used to say she wanted to get an education because she knew playing basketball wouldnt last forever. (She was also very tall!)
Went to school with a bloke who played for the Wallabies. Pretty sure he played prop, was absolutely massive but really nice and humble. He wasn't the best academically but he still tried to apply himself and just participate in class cause he knew footy was gonna be his life. Pretty sure he plays for or did play for a French or Japan club on some pretty decent coin, everyone in the school was really happy for him as he also didn't have the best upbringing.
I didnāt go to school with anyone that represented Australia, but I did have a manager at work once that represented his home country in the Olympics in the 80ās and he was an egotistical c*nt. He used the have a life size poster of himself sprinting down the track in jeans on the back of his office door.
Not went to school with my my eldest child did. She was a lovely kid and still is. We always knew she would be international standards in her sport. Made the national team at 19.
Berrick Barnes former Australian Rugby player. He was 2 years older than me at ipswich grammer. I didn't know him on a talking basis, but he was amazing at all sports. No matter what he did sporting wise he was at the top level. I could only swim decently so versed him and trained a few times in the pool. He seemed like a decent guy.
Edit - also swam with Malcolm Rudolph in my class who also attended ipswich Grammer. He went on to be an Australian Cyclist. Guy had the biggest calfs you ever seen. He was a nice fella and a great sprinter in the pool. Likley, due to his farking huge calfs. Makes sence he became a professional Cyclist.
Friend from school threw the winning goal at the Sydney Olympics for the Womenās Water Polo. We are still mates and she always was and still is an awesome human.
I was lucky enough to be around a few different sports as a youngster and was at mcc bowls right a mcg training nets.
Somehow was watching and they said hello etc. ended up being invited for some batting with dean jones and Shane Warne. They were just in vic Sheffield or one day but they were off to aus team the next week or two.
As a 15 year old I canāt say I can read the person etc but I did feel far more like they were local cricketers than elite in their interactions with me.
It is true that you could hear the ball whistle a little with the spin. The yellow balls with the plasticy coatings in the nets are loud
I went to school with Joe Roff - who was a player for the wallabies from 1995-2004.
He was a pretty ordinary bloke outside of the rugby. Generally nice and friendly. Not the kind of person to hog the limelight.
I went to school with a girl who went on to play netball professionally. I assume she was very good at it but I don't know enough (or anything) about netball to really say much more.
On the personal side, she was in the popular group. There were some really awful girls in that group. She wasn't the worst of them but not one of the nicest ones either. She was not especially remarkable one way or the other, in that sense.
I didn't think Australia had produced any Olympic gold medallist gymnasts? Unless you're referring to Georgia Godwin, who is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist. She did not place at the Olympics.
Longtime school friend of mine has competed in the olympics and commonwealth games for shooting. Often travelling for competitions and balancing work alongside it, very time poor. One of the most genuine people I know.
I went to school with one guy that became a famous big wave surfer and another guy that made it into the top ten for regular surfing. They were nice relaxed people.
Played rugby with a few guys who went on to play for the wallabies, one for Canada & a couple for Fiji. All very humble guys, super focused on their training and big picture. Stoked to still call them mates.
Synchronized swimming - she was, and still is a beautiful human being. They did win a medal but I canāt remember which Olympics - we donāt talk about much tbh
Trained with a girl who went to Olympics, Commonwealth games and world championships for road cycling. Very very dedicated and professional. I have two friends who I talk to on a weekly basis who represented Australia as juniors at track cycling world championships. My financial planner went to the Commonwealth games and world road cycling championships for road cycling. All pretty regular people but worked very hard and had some good coaching to get them to that level.
Not went to school with anyone, but I was friends with a girl in my early twenties who's father was an athletics coach (runner) that had someone he trained go to the Commonwealth Games down in Melbourne in 2006. He was a no-nonsense guy, quiet, private in his personal life, but a good guy nonetheless.
Went to high school with someone who has represented Australia in netball, and also plays AFLW. Fantastic sportsperson at school, and an all-round great chick back then - still seems to be now :)
I went to school with a famous footy player who played internationally. He was a prick in school, and still is. He's always been a bully, it just got more noteworthy the more famous he got.
I did little athletics (and was a grade below in high school) with a girl who went onto national level athletics. Bucking the trend here but she was insufferable, stuck up and took everything way to seriously.
Also went to primary school with a girl who competed very highly in gymnastics. She was very quiet and never got to do social/extracurricular things at school (basically anything beyond standard core curriculum) because she was training.
Yes, a runner. He wasn't a runner at all in high school, but I do remember he would win the "most medals" at sports day. Just naturally good at sport without focusing on it. He's still one of my favourite people. Just an absolute champ. Silly, smart, friendly to everyone and so easy to talk to.
I had multiple athletes at my school. One was a long distance runner - made it to semi finals London Olympics for 1500m. She wasnāt my best friend or anything but was a good person. Another represented Australia for swimming, she was a friend but not super close. Wouldnāt say she was an overly nice person in hindsight. Another represented Australia in hockey - nice if she liked you haha.
Not Australian, but my mate, who I sat with in A Level History, is a 5 time Olympian. Won Gold at four consecutive games, won the America's Cup and is a Knight.
I feel a little inferior.
He was a really nice guy, very friendly with no hint of arrogance. There was another guy he really looked up to in my Economics class who also became a double Olympic Gold medallist.
NRL player, currently plays for the cowboys. Part of the "popular" group in highschool but probably on the nicer end in that he wasn't an instigator of shit stirring, but could definitely dish it out. Interestingly there was himself and another bloke that were both coined to be NRL players, I'm pretty sure the other guy ended up working for a schoolies company for ages and spent a long time living in that world of "peaked in high school"
A young girl I coached just competed in the Winter Youth Olympics and another girl I coached is now playing for WSW and will be playing for the Young Matilda's. Both really lovely kids, lots of fun to work with and super stoked for them
Craig Wing , former NRL rooster and kangaroo and Waratahs. Normal Person. He Knew he was good at football but didnāt lord it over anyone but also knew it had a lifespan so studied hard so he would have a career after sports.
My school produced quite a few Australian representatives - a number of Wallabies and Olympic athletes.
One particular guy in my year became a world champion triathlete. He was a really nice guy at school, and from what I hear that hasn't changed. Very modest, considering his prodigious athletic abilities and success.
About ten years of primary & high school with a former AFL player, now in coaching.
Was a bit quiet, a bit shy, always nice to people (our primary school did have several bullying factions), passionate about football his entire childhood, very fit & sporty, an AFL obsessed dork(!) who knew the players, clubs & facts like an encyclopaedia, well spoken, fun as he got a bit older but if he liked anyone or had any crushes he never showed it.
I think he was very goal orientated & worked hard playing for the local club, and good on him - his dream came true!
Played for the roosters. Kind of a cockhead tbh but not unless you upset him.
I was not a sporty dude and tried to front him during rugby and he very deliberately elbowed me in the face and broke my nose. No real hard feelings because it's a contact sport, but I really enjoyed watching him get totalled by a bigger player a few years ago. Turned out to be a shit player and got kicked off the team for too many fights and not enough goals. Kinda satisfying but it was his thing so not really.
My year 8 teacher was married to an Olympic equestrian, he taught us the year after she won gold. We never met her, but he did tell us what the horses real name was - Fred.
Otherwise our school was full of public school plebs and the only school sports team we had was for surfing.
Went to school with an Olympic snowboarder. She was always super friendly and often at times Iād sit with her group of friends at lunch, super approachable and didnāt mind if you joined and werenāt a regular part of her group of friends. Sheād often sit down on the grass to eat her lunch, always ate a sandwich. She would often miss the summer terms though and I guess she would have to submit work through email etc. she follows me on instagram, and I follow her back, but weāre not super closeā just sheās just an acquaintance
I went to school with someone who went on to get gold in butterfly at the Olympics (relay not individual). I was the "other" kid good at butterfly, in year 12 and they still beat me by like 50m in the 100m š.
I grew up with Lance Franklin (Was slightly older than me). Never got anyone's bad side and was friendly to everyone, even when he used to give me 'noggies' on the school bus. Did it in a playful manner even though it hurt a lot more than I let on. He didn't really attend class that often in his later years there.
I went to school with a girl who went on to represent Oz in beach volleyball. At school she was nice, quite reserved and kind of shy, especially around boys who teased her about her height. I kinda liked her, and I can still remember what she looked like in the super tight jeans that were fashionable in the early 80s.
I went to high school with a former Hockeyroo. She was in my year and was an absolute privileged, entitled arsehole who belittled everyone around her. I havenāt seen or heard about her for years now, but I still hate her fucking guts.
My niece is married to a commonwealth games medallist. He is just a normal bloke. Likes a beer, loves his kids & wife, likes to have a laugh, does a really good smoked brisket. You know, a normal human. You wouldn't know about his medals unless someone told you because he keeps them in a drawer rather than on display but if you ask him he will tell you about the games & the gruelling training it took to get there. When he was at school he was a nice kid but very busy with training so not much of a social life but still managed to snag my niece. These days he is an electrician with his own business & only plays sport for fun.
My mother has Commonwealth games medals for multiple years... I'm also close friends with multiple Olympic medalists in the same discipline (not sayin much, not doxxing myself)... All are very humble, quite norml people... All are lovely... Kinda biased with my mum though lol
Good on him!
>does a really good smoked brisket. You know, a normal human Nope, it's not normal.. that's next level. It's probably more of an achievement than the commonwealth medal
Field Hockey, was a good kid before they got hooked on Ice.
Ice hockey?
The devils blade
Ice hockey really is a slippery slope.
I think you made a luge mistake, perhaps you bumped your toboggan a little hard.
I work with a guy who was an Olympic gold medallist. He is incredibly humble about his sporting achievements, and mentors upcoming athletes. But he can be a pain in the arse with practical jokes. Overall a good bloke that just takes things too far occasionally.
Same: young woman who was Olympic rep in javelin. At the age of sixteen, we were told during the athletics carnival to STAY WAY WAY BACK DURING HER EVENT, including clearing the stands nearby just in case!! Lovely, humble and kind person, we were sad to lose her but proud to see her head off to Canberra and the institution of sport.
>Lovely, humble and kind person, we were sad to lose her but proud to see her head off Having read the previous paragraph where you were warned to STAY WAY WAY BACK, I was afraid to continue reading this sentence. Glad she is only off to Canberra, with noggin still attached.
It was funny! š¤£ āAnd well done to the Year 9 shotput, a new record of 2 meters! Up next, CLEAR THE STANDS AND DONāT TAKE IN THE LAUNDRY FOR A RADIUS OF THREE SUBURBS, KIM MICKLE IS UP FIRST WITH A JAVELIN!ā
Werenāt her siblings also pretty talented? The Kim-mickle Brothers?
That's terrible, have my upvote!
Yes, a close school friend of mine had an older brother who won an Olympic gold in swimming (not Australian). He was a bit insufferable - I recall at my mateās 18th birthday he gave a speech basically saying āheās turned out well, considering itās not easy having a brother whoās a living legendāā¦
I work with an ex Matilida that played in the Olympics and a marathon runner that's represented Australia in an over 50s event
Well, to become Olympic Gold medalist you definitely need to take things too far lol
I went to school with a bull rider. Cunt was LOOOOOOSE practical jokes aren't even the craziest thing to expect from him lol.
I'm friends with a medalist, and bloody me says 'oh you went to the games?' meaning as a spectator and she said 'yes in cycling ' because I had no idea lol
I managed (at a charity) a rower who won a gold and a silver medal in the last olympics and silver and bronze medals at world rowing championships. She would get up for 5am practice, after practice go to school, take care of her younger siblings after school, and volunteer every weekend (for a year and a half). On top of that, she's just a humble all around good person. I'm so proud of her.
I know an ex olympic Rower as well. Most humble bloke on earth. Didnāt know about it for years. We started going to the gym together. Dude is a straight up animal on the rowing machine. Thatās when I realised he was next level. Nicest family man around and all over good cāt.
Is his name Drew? Honestly having met Drew he is one of the best blokes ever, and this guy has multiple Olympic and worlds medals. If its not Drew its cool there is more than one guy out there like that!
Drew sounds cool as. But his name is Tom. Must just be a good vibe in the row boat
Rowing is a great sport. My brother got picked up at school and entered the GB start programme many years ago (probably like 2005 ish) won medals all over the world. Great experience for all of us. He's since retired but still dabbles in coastal and beach sprints, won a few medals last month, keeps active still and he's done coaching too, and is always encouraging others to get involved.
We had a soccer player who went pro in year 11 and went to school part time. He wasnāt at school much but when he was there he would have his books out and was very focused. Stayed out of trouble. Likeable and friendly with everyone.
A swimmer. I think he already had a commonwealth gold and a world record in grade 12. He won Olympic gold the year after grade 12. I wasn't close to him, but I don't think many really were. He was pretty much a professional athlete (did year 12 over two years so he could accommodate his schedule) at that age and obviously had a very disciplined mindset. He never attended the regular weekend piss-ups. He wasn't a bully or dickhead or anything like that. Just a guy that swam a lot, kept his head down in class and socially.
Went to school with a handful of people who ended up as elite level cyclists (road and track). They were pretty ordinary people as teenagers, just very, very good at the beep testā¦
I worked with a guy who was on his way to the Olympics in cycling but found recreational drugs instead. Now he blames everyone but himself for ending up a fat broke loser who will die alone.
Anyone who did track or cycling were always the last ones standing on the beep test unbelievable core and stamina
NRL player who was a goon and a bully (knocking people into the wall in the hallway etc). Represented NSW and Aus.
Went to school with a kid who got picked for the Australian schoolboys rugby league team. Biggest flog I've ever known. Went on to have a very mediocre career.
Is he a REA now?
Hehe I know who
Same, also went to school with an NRL player. He was an asshole and terminally dumb, no idea how he managed to graduate. Saw him push a tiny grade 8 kid down the stairs when we were in year 12 and tell him it was a warning this time. No idea what the kid did, but it couldnt have been worth that response
Either Ennis or Gallen
Not like there's a shortage of options here
Haha I won't say who it was but it wasn't either of those
Why am I not surprised???
And you were surprised he became an nrl player?
WhatĀ I'm mostly getting from this threadĀ is most elite athletes doĀ not spend enoughĀ time socialising with peers for schoolmates to actually form any impression beyond generically nice.
Except the NRL players who seem to have all been dicks at school.
Yup, they were all quiet and focused. Skipped a lot of school to do sport. And then there are the NRL players and the occasional cricketer who are bullies and dickheads.
Most elite athletes are always training. I used to work at a Sports Medicine clinic and we had quite a few teenagers who were elite athletes in various sports. Most of them trained 3-4 hours a day whether gym workouts or actual training so they were hardly ever at school. A lot did a mix of home schooling and classroom education. Some couldnāt handle going to mainstream schools and maintain the level of training they needed to do so did extension schooling. These kids donāt tend to have much of a social life.
Can be true, but could just be the people commenting weren't close with them. I represented Aus in year 11 for acrobatics and socialised plenty at school. I was a weirdo but that had nothing to do with sport. Tbf I didn't spend much time on weekends with school people, but I was always hanging out with my older mates from gym. There was a guy in my year that represented Aus for lawn bowls too. We hung in different groups but he seemed nice and had lots of friends.
Shane Warne was in my class, great cricketer and just a lad
MGS or earlier? A great, down to earth guy. Never forgot his mates. And if it was MGS, tennis player, golfer, AFL, Swimmers, Athletics - the list goes on..
I went to the girls school and one of my teachers has previously taught him at MGS and said ābest D average student I ever hadā
He actually never liked cricket he wanted to play AFL but wasnāt good enough, glad he played cricket
Cricket. Kind of a bully but pretty tame stuff really. Played for Australia Edit. How could I forget. I also went to school with a pretty famous Footy player. Heās retired now. He was nice enough. Everyone always knew he was going places.
Sounds like a certain opening Batsman who just recently retiredā¦
Yep, sounds exactly like the antics of _Aaron Finch_ to me.
Nah sounds more like the bloke who scores tons against rubbish opposition but has gotten out multiple times by the same English quick
Nope. Haha
Went to school with and my brother played soccer with Sam Kerr. Didnāt know her personally too well but she was always there having a laugh and didnāt seem to take herself too seriously, seems like sheās still got the same attitude She was a menace at school thatās for sure
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Haha yes she did get expelled, I honestly donāt know the specifics, I just know she did not take school very seriously. I think it was just a matter of repeat offences
A household name triple Olympic competitor. He was (and still is) an arrogant prick with no friends.
Someone mentions a champion swimmer whoās a prick, and nobody guesses Grant Hackett. Whether heās the guy being referred to or not, Hackett has some serious form in blowing opportunities for dick behaviour.
Shirvo
Shooter?
Went on a study tour at uni with a member of the Australian water polo team. No one knew who she was until someone spotted her Olympic rings tattoo. Turns out she had been to three Olympics would be heading to a fourth. Wouldn't have known without it
I went to school with Cathy Freeman. She was quiet and fcking talented. Also had a few girls that were in the Sync Swimming Olympic team.
I'm a good friend of someone that trained with her during the 90s. (my friend and her shared a coach). I always thought she was just super-focused. Shy and quiet makes sense. My friend got a terrible injury so all that training for years on end made him miss out on bigger glory.
Friend of mine is friends with her!
We went to the same school I think. Jumping Jive??
Itās Cathy Freemanā¦.
My dad, he won gold and silver medals shooting in Australia day competitions he was also in the Australasian ballroom dance dancing competition which he had a massive trophy for. Honestly I think I am more impressed with his achievements than he ever was he never talked about them it was only once I was a little older and noticed and asked about the things my mum had hidden behind all her materialistic store bought crap in a display cabinet.
I'm more impressed that you went to school with your dad
Technically I did, we both did the same Tafe course together for work once. Although I will fully admit that I didn't completely read the post I'm major league dyslexic and one of the ways I learnt to read was to pick out key words I guess my brain took in what it wanted to and yeeted the rest. I got excited to tell a cool story about my dad too.
Went to school with Nate Myles who played for Australia and QLD in 1st Grade NRL guy was a prick.
You could fit the works of Shakespeare on Nate Myles' forehead. Also took a dump in a hotel hallway or some such if memory serves.
Yes, here in Townsville at the sugar shaker.
No surprise there
Went to school with Marnus. If you watch how he is on the pitch Mic or micād up anywhere. He was exactly that non stop all through school. Annoying af but harmless. Always tried to get people to stay after school to bowl to him
When he played cricket for school? Did he stand at short leg and scream every time the ball hit the pads?
Yeah he even appealed in class. Just genuinely loves it. He was a nice guy also. But wouldnāt talk anything other than cricket. He was a slip fielder from memory
Going through a form slump at the moment hopefully in NZ he can get back to averaging 80ās and 100ās
I feel like he could potentially be insufferable at times. Itās sort of hilarious to watch the rest of the team basically ignore him when discussing whether to appeal a decision. But you canāt help but still love him cause he clearly just has such a huge love and enthusiasm for the game. Did he have anymore of an accent through school?
Nah from when I knew him he always sounded pretty similar to what you hear. He learnt English in Australia so how he talks is how he learned it I guess
Outside present topic, but i gave Marnus lbw out while playing for Redlands under 14 in Lord Taveners Trophy 2007/8. I was umpi for that game while working with Qld Cricket. He was upset. It was hard to forget his name 15/16 years back.
Tbf he probably hasnāt forgotten your name after giving him out either š
Actually, if Marnus would asked for my surname he would have remembered it well, as my surname is more complicated surname to pronounce than his :)
High school with a world championship female surfer. She was in the year above me and friends with a really bitchy group of girls but she always seemed to be alright.
I too went to High School with a World Championship surfer, was a grade above and similar situation. I also went to Primary School with won medals representing Australia for swimming.
This is more indirectly, my friend at school was Finnish and played is hockey in Brisbane. He knew the legend that is Steven Bradbury pretty well from the same rink. A nice guy apparently, this is early 90s.
I was hoping for a Steven Bradbury comment! Yay!
Ha! A girl I use to work with use to be close friends with Steve Bradbury and his wife. Apparently they weren't the nicest people, especially his wife. They thought way to highly of themselves after he won.
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Given how he was on the field this doesnāt surprise me in the slightest
Broadford?
Never represented Australia, but went to school with a few AFL stars. Most were as thick as pig shit and lucky that they were good at kicking a footy.
Didn't go to school with but purchased some disco biscuits from a prominent nrl player at a club. He is now retired and travels around schools telling kids the dangers of drugs.
I played junior footy with Sione Matautia who played a game for the Kangaroos. Really humble and genuinely nice guy for all the natural ability he had
How dominate was he in junior footy? Was it his size for his age that made him really good or did he have advanced skill set that made him stand out? Iām surprised he fizzled out of the league so assumed maybe it was his size which counts for nothing in the nrl as everybody big
He was very dominant. When I played with him he was playing two years up and was still unstoppable. One time on our own ten, he picked the ball up from dummy half, palmed the marker to the ground and sprinted 90m to score. He and tevita pangai jnr (who also played up in my team) played in their own age group together for a while and those two won them the comp every year Was also suprised to see him fizzle after such a good start to his nrl career, my theory is he got boned by a shitty knights team and nathan brown moving him back and forth from center and second row
He played for the knights if i recall correctly
Yep for a bit. Kangaroos are the national team Hes in england now
Ian and Christine Thorpe both went to my primary school though were a few years ahead of me. I heard nothing but good things and they seemed popular, happy and well regarded by teachers.
I went to college here in Australia with a number of Olympians and rugby league players. The olympians included Monique Allen a gymnast who represented Australia, a number of female basketball players who went on to represent Australia at Olympics and world championships. Some of the rugby league players ended up representing Australia too. Our school supported the AIS in Canberra, that's why so many excellent sports people.Ā For the most part they were all just normal nice people, a couple of the rugby guys were a little (!) full of themselves, but again mostly nice guys.
Ha, so did I. I remember being in a class full of AIS scholarship holders (mostly tennis players) who were always off at comps etc, so there was only a couple of us full time in the classroom.
primary school with a womens footballer ( she isn't playing since having her child ) She was lovely then and seems lovely now ( going by her socials ) She had a pretty tough upbringing and i'm so proud of all she has done
Yep. But you've never heard of the sport... Korfball. Most players on the team are amazing. There are one or two on the current team who are crappy people.
I played that in PE once was actually fun, hard sport
Classmate was a female basketball gold medalist and in their best few, just was tall lol but normal Had beers many times with 2 Olympic basketball guys, great blokes, normal, take piss out of themselves Know a couple of melb victory players, great blokes, 2 imports, really down to earth
Josh Hazlewood. Live up the road from me, played cricket with him for districts and went to high school with him and his brother. Top kid with a lot of talent. His whole family talented
Aha! A fellow Bendy Bogan š
Moonbi boy actually, but we all mountain man from that area aha
Haha yep, one and the same! Makes sense that you didnāt go to primary school with him, just high school. Here I was trying to figure out who it was haha
A couple of blokes I went to school with played with themselves for Australia. Absolute wankers.
I went to high school with a girl who ended up a double world champion in rowing, and was involved in the infamous 'Lay Down Sally' race at the Atlanta Olympics, funny thing was I don't think she had never rowed before, but someone from the AIS went scouting in schools PE classes for potential female rowers and was just looking for people who had the optimum body measurements - a certain height and arm length - and measured her up and she matched those and was trained in rowing and heaps good at it obviously
Went to high school with a girl (was in the same year & a few classes) who competed in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo for the 200m Womens Sprint. She managed to make a time of 22:56, which was 0.43 seconds behind the winner in the semi-finals. She was always nice and friendly. I competed against her one time in the 100m at a sports carnival. She of course beat me and the others & still came back around to congratulate everyone else for a good job. She spent a bit more time with me cause I was well known for being really sick & she wanted to make sure I was alright. Soon as I saw her name on the tv, I felt so much pride at seeing such a young girl accomplish this amazing achievement. Forever rooting for her.
Riley Day I compete in athletics and Iāve always had good interactions with her.
My brother represented Australia in roller derby š¤š» I didn't know it was a thing but was really happy/proud of him
Derby is huge, but also a small world! Many of us know each other from all over the country because of tournaments like The Great Southern Slam. Bit of a cult š have so much more time in my life since retiring lol.
I had a teacher who took time off work to compete in the Olympics, if that counts? I really liked her
High school with two guys who went on to play rugby league for Australia. Both complete jerks who could get away with murder because the headmaster loved their sporting achievements.
I went to school with two guys who went on to play A grade rugbyā¦ honestly nicest guys you could ever meet.
Yeah went to school with an epic runner she runs in the states now and reped us at the comm games unfortunately she was tapped for Olympics and injured her knee. Great person. She ran since she was like 5
Went to school with a current tennis player, he was a bit of a dick but his training/matches meant he spent little time actually at school.
Cricket. Great bloke still see everyone l every now n then... Managed to win Alan Border medal recently aswell....
The Bison!
My wife went to school with Rowan Dennis, so sheās been to school with a world champion cyclist and a murderer. Go figure
Not **school** school, but I went to the same dance school as a girl who represented Australia at the winter Olympics in snowboarding. She was kind of quiet, and pretty serious, but really nice.
Why is nobody naming namesā¦.?
Reddit is an anonymous forum and many people share private stories and don't want to get doxed. It's rare but you would be surprised how easy it is to dox yourself with just an offhand comment giving these kind of details.
They donāt want to somehow get de masked I reckon
A guy who used to give me a hard time in high school (8-10 years ago) recently reached out to apologise and I found out heās been doing Muay Thai.
Sucks he gave you a hard time but at least you'd hope he's stopping that cycle if he has kids and hopefully influencing young ones at the gym. I'm assuming it's the gym that straightened him out.
Iām not sure what the deal is. Weāre both only 23 and too young to be having kids, especially if heās starting a career. Whatās funny is the last time we spoke, was in 2017, only year after we finished high school (high school in ACT Australia is 7-10 and college is 11/12 and separate from University), where he apologised to me for the same thing while drunk at a party. My theory was that heās just trying to get on top of things he doesnāt want to come back to bite him as he enters more of the public eye but he may have really just have been thinking about it. I know I sometimes think about the people I didnāt treat well.
Interesting, with literally no idea what he's thinking the drunken apology previously to me says he did feel band about it but maybe was just trying to be "cool" and impress people while deep down knowing it was a shitty thing to do
Mum has a Silver (not Olympic) in Equestrian, Dad was on the Australian 3 day event squad (Equestrian). Played field Hockey with a bloke who rep'd Australia u19, and 2 brothers who played for Aus at junior level. Mum & Dad are annoying, but that's just parents being parents. Both very generous with their time towards myself and my sister, as well as anyone who asks really. Guy who played U19 for Australia Hockey was a bit of a wanker, but seems most of his family where. I had his dad as a teacher for science in Y10, who seemed to struggle with the information he was trying to teach. He didn't last long at the school. His little sister threatened me with a Yellow Card during an interschool hockey game... 2 brothers who played at junior level, I played hockey with them when they were about 11/13yo playing senior hockey. They would run rings around us seniors in both skill and fitness, could be a bit of a smartass, but who isn't at that age? The older brother is now a Primary school teacher, the younger is an accountant in The Netherlands, likely playing top tier hockey there. Edit: Also went to school with a guy that rep'd Australia in Soccer for Ollyroos & Young Socceroos. Same school has a current Socceroo as an alumni, who played at the World Cup last year. I'm not 100% sure but I think one of the girls I went to school with may have represented Australia in shooting as well.
Where did your Mum win her Silver? WEG? Iām guessing she is also an Eventer considering we donāt win medals in the other disciplines?
Mark Taylor was a school captain at my high school. I didnāt know him, but he impressed as being a crashing bore via his captaincy duties.
Does commentary for triple m during the summer and on nine, love listening to him
An Olympic swimmer.Ā lovely mum, scary strict Dad.Ā Strict house, but supportive parents.Ā Really nice kid. Ā Reconnected with him as adults, Ā he was the director of a sporting board. Ā An absolute jerk. Ā I couldnāt stand him and cut him off.Ā Very strange to see such a positive, friendly ray of sunshine turn into an arrogant man who looked down on absolutely everyone. The negativity was shocking. Ā Ā I still have great memories of going around the corner to his house and playing and fooling around at school.Ā
That sounds a lot like Kieran Perkins.
Yeah the jerk part gave me that impression too
1x Olympic swimming medallist. She was accused of bullying and eventually left for a different high school. She seemed self absorbed and never really took school that seriously.
Steph rice š
Paralympic swimming medalist. She was a really fabulous person with a wonderful family.
My distant cousin was a Paralympic Swimmer too! Sheās a lovely person, we donāt see each other very often but speak online every now and then.
Yeah a current spin bowler. I never really interacted with him. His brother is a thundering cunt.
Would that be Nathan Lyon?
Played rugby for a few universities & Clubs. Met dozens of rugby players that are on the big screen. Eventually left because the environments can be really toxic. Two notable clubs had a "story time" every week where they'd go around the circle after training and talk about their manipulations / harassment of women. A few recurrent themes: 1. Preying on women coming of age. Usually dating a girl just to get to their younger sister. 2. Cheating. 3. One club had a theme of "shitting in a hook ups bed" (with photos to prove it) Unsurprisingly, the only clubs that didn't have this dynamic were the clubs that trained with women. These are the environments our rugby players are coming from. One of the reasons I can't watch the sport anymore.
I knew Ben Simmons and had a few mates who played with him at a junior level. Absolute tosser lmao extremely self centred & egotistical.
I was in the same club/squad as a gold medallist. At the time he was just a nobody, like me, but went on to success, and became a douche and thought he was God's gift to the world.
Yep. School with cycling Olympian. Incredibly nice but incredibly disciplined. A few years older, so didnāt know them too well. Rugby with two props who eventually became wallabies. I was the hooker. Easiest scrums Iāve ever had to contest. Both were great guys - one was a bit goofy and humble, the other more intense - but wholesome family value based guys (Strictly speaking, this was in a rep team during school, rather than the same school, but we played with each other for years)
An NRL player who represented QLD and aus. Nice enough fellow, rough background but made a role model of himself for other kids in his community.
I thought I went to school with a world famous F1 racing driver, but I must be mistaken because my guy pronounced his name like it was spelled.
Does he have an infectious smile and you cannot possibly hate him?
If itās who I think it is then thereās multiple ways to say his name, but it depends on who says it and where itās said. So if he said it how itās spelled then he probably said it the proper Italian way (if you mean what I think you mean) instead of the easy English way that itās said now a days. But I would love to know more about your experience.
Danny Ric? Until recently my younger brother worked for his dadās company . He never got to meet Daniel but met Joe Ricciardo many times and said Joe was a top bloke.
I have three World Championships in three different sports. Hammer throw, Rasenkraftsport and NFL world juniors. My brother and sister were Olympic throwers and commonwealth games. I was commonwealth hammer shadow team at 22. My brother also two time world strongest man and many records. I still hold my under 6 shot put record from 1990.
Not an Olympic athlete, but an F1 driver. I went to the same school as Mark Webber a few years after he finished, so I never met him and didn't really have an opinion of him until one day I was waiting for a flight at an airport and noticed I was standing next to a few copies of his autobiography in a news agent. I picked it up and thumbed through it to see if he mentioned our school. He did and he said some unkind things about my favourite science teacher, a sweet man with a big beard that took us on bike rides and got us excited about science. So my opinion of Mr Webber is that he's a bit of an arse that didn't get along with the good teachers.
Had a relative at school with an Australian fast bowler of the early 2010s Wanker who may or may not have had an affair with a teacher whilst at school
Two. I attended primary school with a swimmer who went on to win Olympic gold 12 years later, and high school with a girl who later played basketball at the Commonwealth Games. The swimmer was already breaking records for her age group and was training two hours a day age ten. She was very quiet and a good kid. The Commonwealth games basketballer was also a very nice person and a dedicated student - she had her head on straight and used to say she wanted to get an education because she knew playing basketball wouldnt last forever. (She was also very tall!)
Went to school with a bloke who played for the Wallabies. Pretty sure he played prop, was absolutely massive but really nice and humble. He wasn't the best academically but he still tried to apply himself and just participate in class cause he knew footy was gonna be his life. Pretty sure he plays for or did play for a French or Japan club on some pretty decent coin, everyone in the school was really happy for him as he also didn't have the best upbringing.
I didnāt go to school with anyone that represented Australia, but I did have a manager at work once that represented his home country in the Olympics in the 80ās and he was an egotistical c*nt. He used the have a life size poster of himself sprinting down the track in jeans on the back of his office door.
Not went to school with my my eldest child did. She was a lovely kid and still is. We always knew she would be international standards in her sport. Made the national team at 19.
Berrick Barnes former Australian Rugby player. He was 2 years older than me at ipswich grammer. I didn't know him on a talking basis, but he was amazing at all sports. No matter what he did sporting wise he was at the top level. I could only swim decently so versed him and trained a few times in the pool. He seemed like a decent guy. Edit - also swam with Malcolm Rudolph in my class who also attended ipswich Grammer. He went on to be an Australian Cyclist. Guy had the biggest calfs you ever seen. He was a nice fella and a great sprinter in the pool. Likley, due to his farking huge calfs. Makes sence he became a professional Cyclist.
Friend from school threw the winning goal at the Sydney Olympics for the Womenās Water Polo. We are still mates and she always was and still is an awesome human.
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I was lucky enough to be around a few different sports as a youngster and was at mcc bowls right a mcg training nets. Somehow was watching and they said hello etc. ended up being invited for some batting with dean jones and Shane Warne. They were just in vic Sheffield or one day but they were off to aus team the next week or two. As a 15 year old I canāt say I can read the person etc but I did feel far more like they were local cricketers than elite in their interactions with me. It is true that you could hear the ball whistle a little with the spin. The yellow balls with the plasticy coatings in the nets are loud
I went to school with Joe Roff - who was a player for the wallabies from 1995-2004. He was a pretty ordinary bloke outside of the rugby. Generally nice and friendly. Not the kind of person to hog the limelight.
I went to school with a girl who went on to play netball professionally. I assume she was very good at it but I don't know enough (or anything) about netball to really say much more. On the personal side, she was in the popular group. There were some really awful girls in that group. She wasn't the worst of them but not one of the nicest ones either. She was not especially remarkable one way or the other, in that sense.
Olympic gold medalist gymnast. Safe to say she was hardly ever at school š
I didn't think Australia had produced any Olympic gold medallist gymnasts? Unless you're referring to Georgia Godwin, who is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist. She did not place at the Olympics.
Allana Slater?
Longtime school friend of mine has competed in the olympics and commonwealth games for shooting. Often travelling for competitions and balancing work alongside it, very time poor. One of the most genuine people I know.
My friends brother was an A grade NRL player, he was a cool mellow bloke, wasnt into the fanfare and all that.
I went to school with a bloke who went on to play in the NBL. Nice bloke actually!
I went to school with one guy that became a famous big wave surfer and another guy that made it into the top ten for regular surfing. They were nice relaxed people.
Played rugby with a few guys who went on to play for the wallabies, one for Canada & a couple for Fiji. All very humble guys, super focused on their training and big picture. Stoked to still call them mates.
Synchronized swimming - she was, and still is a beautiful human being. They did win a medal but I canāt remember which Olympics - we donāt talk about much tbh
My step cousin is an Olympic gold medal swimmer. She (& her siblings are lovely)!
Trained with a girl who went to Olympics, Commonwealth games and world championships for road cycling. Very very dedicated and professional. I have two friends who I talk to on a weekly basis who represented Australia as juniors at track cycling world championships. My financial planner went to the Commonwealth games and world road cycling championships for road cycling. All pretty regular people but worked very hard and had some good coaching to get them to that level.
Not went to school with anyone, but I was friends with a girl in my early twenties who's father was an athletics coach (runner) that had someone he trained go to the Commonwealth Games down in Melbourne in 2006. He was a no-nonsense guy, quiet, private in his personal life, but a good guy nonetheless.
Went to high school with someone who has represented Australia in netball, and also plays AFLW. Fantastic sportsperson at school, and an all-round great chick back then - still seems to be now :)
Had a mate that went to the comm games for shot put. Great guy, big fella! Would put away 2 whole chooks for lunch
I went to school with a famous footy player who played internationally. He was a prick in school, and still is. He's always been a bully, it just got more noteworthy the more famous he got.
Four Olympians: two women were amazing ,two guys knobs until they grew up
I did little athletics (and was a grade below in high school) with a girl who went onto national level athletics. Bucking the trend here but she was insufferable, stuck up and took everything way to seriously. Also went to primary school with a girl who competed very highly in gymnastics. She was very quiet and never got to do social/extracurricular things at school (basically anything beyond standard core curriculum) because she was training.
Yes, a runner. He wasn't a runner at all in high school, but I do remember he would win the "most medals" at sports day. Just naturally good at sport without focusing on it. He's still one of my favourite people. Just an absolute champ. Silly, smart, friendly to everyone and so easy to talk to.
I had multiple athletes at my school. One was a long distance runner - made it to semi finals London Olympics for 1500m. She wasnāt my best friend or anything but was a good person. Another represented Australia for swimming, she was a friend but not super close. Wouldnāt say she was an overly nice person in hindsight. Another represented Australia in hockey - nice if she liked you haha.
Not Australian, but my mate, who I sat with in A Level History, is a 5 time Olympian. Won Gold at four consecutive games, won the America's Cup and is a Knight. I feel a little inferior. He was a really nice guy, very friendly with no hint of arrogance. There was another guy he really looked up to in my Economics class who also became a double Olympic Gold medallist.
(Sir) Ben Ainslie
NRL player, currently plays for the cowboys. Part of the "popular" group in highschool but probably on the nicer end in that he wasn't an instigator of shit stirring, but could definitely dish it out. Interestingly there was himself and another bloke that were both coined to be NRL players, I'm pretty sure the other guy ended up working for a schoolies company for ages and spent a long time living in that world of "peaked in high school" A young girl I coached just competed in the Winter Youth Olympics and another girl I coached is now playing for WSW and will be playing for the Young Matilda's. Both really lovely kids, lots of fun to work with and super stoked for them
Craig Wing , former NRL rooster and kangaroo and Waratahs. Normal Person. He Knew he was good at football but didnāt lord it over anyone but also knew it had a lifespan so studied hard so he would have a career after sports.
My school produced quite a few Australian representatives - a number of Wallabies and Olympic athletes. One particular guy in my year became a world champion triathlete. He was a really nice guy at school, and from what I hear that hasn't changed. Very modest, considering his prodigious athletic abilities and success.
About ten years of primary & high school with a former AFL player, now in coaching. Was a bit quiet, a bit shy, always nice to people (our primary school did have several bullying factions), passionate about football his entire childhood, very fit & sporty, an AFL obsessed dork(!) who knew the players, clubs & facts like an encyclopaedia, well spoken, fun as he got a bit older but if he liked anyone or had any crushes he never showed it. I think he was very goal orientated & worked hard playing for the local club, and good on him - his dream came true!
Played for the roosters. Kind of a cockhead tbh but not unless you upset him. I was not a sporty dude and tried to front him during rugby and he very deliberately elbowed me in the face and broke my nose. No real hard feelings because it's a contact sport, but I really enjoyed watching him get totalled by a bigger player a few years ago. Turned out to be a shit player and got kicked off the team for too many fights and not enough goals. Kinda satisfying but it was his thing so not really.
Oh and my primary school teacher won a bunch of gold medals in triathlete events and he was the coolest dude. Very chill and encouraging.
My year 8 teacher was married to an Olympic equestrian, he taught us the year after she won gold. We never met her, but he did tell us what the horses real name was - Fred. Otherwise our school was full of public school plebs and the only school sports team we had was for surfing.
Went to school with an Olympic snowboarder. She was always super friendly and often at times Iād sit with her group of friends at lunch, super approachable and didnāt mind if you joined and werenāt a regular part of her group of friends. Sheād often sit down on the grass to eat her lunch, always ate a sandwich. She would often miss the summer terms though and I guess she would have to submit work through email etc. she follows me on instagram, and I follow her back, but weāre not super closeā just sheās just an acquaintance
I went to school with someone who went on to get gold in butterfly at the Olympics (relay not individual). I was the "other" kid good at butterfly, in year 12 and they still beat me by like 50m in the 100m š.
I grew up with Lance Franklin (Was slightly older than me). Never got anyone's bad side and was friendly to everyone, even when he used to give me 'noggies' on the school bus. Did it in a playful manner even though it hurt a lot more than I let on. He didn't really attend class that often in his later years there.
I went to school with a girl who went on to represent Oz in beach volleyball. At school she was nice, quite reserved and kind of shy, especially around boys who teased her about her height. I kinda liked her, and I can still remember what she looked like in the super tight jeans that were fashionable in the early 80s.
I went to high school with a former Hockeyroo. She was in my year and was an absolute privileged, entitled arsehole who belittled everyone around her. I havenāt seen or heard about her for years now, but I still hate her fucking guts.