Melbourne University Athletics Club

MUAC trio to star in Doha

IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019

Catriona Bisset

Club & State: MUAC, VIC

Resident: Melbourne

Occupation: Student (Master of Architecture, Diploma in Languages (Chinese))

Event & PB: 800m 1:58.78 (London GBR, 21 July 2019)

Coach: Peter Fortune
Social Media (Twitter/Instagram): @catrionabisset/catrionabisset

International Champs & medals: World Relays (2019, 2x2x400m mixed relay silver) World University Games (2019 gold)

Catriona Bisset started running in Little Athletics in under 7s in Canberra and for sport in primary and high school making it to the national championships. For about four years from her late teens when she was at University in Sydney she ran recreationally. She had given up competition for years as she suffered through an eating disorder, anxiety and depression in her late teens and early 20s. But she returned: “I took up competitive running at 22 years.” She also moved to Melbourne, continued her studies and commencing training under coach Peter Fortune. During her first summer with Fortune she ran a modest 2:09 for the 800m. During the summer of 2018 she continued to progress bring her PB down to 2:03.48, but was run out in the heats of the Commonwealth Games trials.

She opened her breakthrough 2019 summer with just 2:05 in January, but through February, March and April it tumbled with PBs of 2:03.35, 2:03.03, 2:01.27, 2:00.48 and 1:59.78. She won the national title and in June & July added the Oceania and World University Games titles.
In many of these races she had led throughout the race and went undefeated (over 800m) from March until July. She received a call up to race in the London Diamond League and with a pacemaker and a strong field she broke the national 800m record clocking 1:58.78. At 43 years 143 days, it was the second oldest Australian record (behind Peter Norman’s 200m).

Education – Architectural Studies UNSW in Sydney (graduated 2014), Master of Architecture and Diploma in Languages (Chinese) at Melb Uni (current)

Hobbies – cycling, cooking, reading, podcast listening and cuddling Plum, my greyhound

Sporting ambition – “to run every race honestly, without fear of failure, and to support my competitors and teammates.”

Memorable sporting achievement – “Winning the national 800m and sharing it with all my friends and family who came to watch. My parents and sister surprised her by coming along.”

Memorable sporting moment– “Sharing a moment with a competitor at the World University Games who I had raced a few months before in Japan for the World Relays. She’s Japanese and neither of us spoke the other’s language so when we met all we did was say “hello”, clasp each other’s hands, and smile at each other. I loved how we could be friends simply through the shared experience of athletics.”

Influence – “My coach, Peter Fortune. Like all coach/athlete relationships, it’s not perfect, but he’s given me the space to figure out what kind of athlete I am. “

Advice to your young self – “Ask for help and be vulnerable.”

Famous relatives – older sister is Jennifer Bisset, former W-League soccer player

Nickname – Trina

Interesting facts – Her mother is from Nanjing, China. She is studying Chinese but not yet fluent. Went vegan several years ago after coming to terms with the animal welfare and environmental impact of industrial meat and dairy production. Cycles almost everywhere – “I don’t own a car and enjoy the hours I spend on my bike.” Is an advocate for mental health.

Competing

Round 1

Friday, 27th September, 17:10 (Saturday, 28th, 12:10am in Melbourne)

Semi Final

Saturday, 28th September, 19:15 (Sunday, 29th, 2:15am in Melbourne)

Final

Monday, 30th September, 22:10 (Tuesday, 1st October, 5:10am in Melbourne)

Jemima Montag

Club & State: MUAC, VIC

Resident: Melbourne

Occupation: Student (Bachelor of Science) & research assistant The Fruit Box Group

Event & PB: 20km walk 1:30.51 (Adelaide AUS, 10 Feb 2019)

Coach: Brent Vallance
Social Media (Twitter/Instagram):/@jemimamontag

International Champs & medals: World Race Walking Cup (2014 U20, 2018), World Youth Championships (2015), Commonwealth Games (2018 gold), World University Games (2019 silver)

Jemima Montag started little athletics at Brighton in under 8s. “I very quickly realised that I certainly had slow twitch muscle fibres, as I was absolutely shocking at any jumps and throws (couldn’t get over the high jump warm up height to save myself).” With her endurance capacity, she found her way to the walks. “I really enjoyed the challenge of such a technical endurance event.” In her teens she was recording impressive achievements, winning national junior/age titles. At aged 16, she was selected for the junior event at the World Race Walking Championship, placing 12th and winning a bronze with the team. In 2015 she was 11th at the IAAF World Youth (U18) Championships. She made her 20km walk debut in December 2017 and seven weeks later at the Commonwealth Games trials she was outstanding placing second in 1:31.26 (9th fastest all-time) and securing automatic selection for the Games. At the Commonwealth Games, she was perfect – winning gold by 88 seconds.

Her 2019 season has been impressive with a silver at the World University Games, a win at the Oceania Champs, and PBs across all her distances including the 20km walk (1:30.51) elevating her to number 10 all-time.

Education – Science at Melbourne Uni. She also works at The Fruit Box Group as a research assistant for their new Corporate Social Responsibility project, The One Box, which delivers free boxes of fruit, veg, milk and bread to food insecure families around Australia

Hobbies – Cooking for family/friends, public speaking, piano, time in nature, journaling and surprising my friends with thoughtful little gestures.

Memorable sporting moment – “Hitting the tape at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with my support crew right by my side.”

Hero / idol – “I admire Jess Trengove and her approach to running, family, career and life. I love the energy that she radiates. Through her writing she inspires me to find that balance between chasing goals and enjoying the process.”

Most influential person – “My coach – Brent Vallance – he believed in me as an emerging junior and has guided me towards success as a young senior athlete.”

Competing

Sunday, 29th September 23:59 (Monday, 30th, 6:59am in Melbourne)

Joel Baden

Club & State: MUAC, VIC

Resident:Melbourne

Occupation: Student (Science at Melbourne Uni)

Event & PBs: High Jump 2.30m (Sydney AUS, 6 Apr 2019)

Coach: Sandro Bisetto
Social Media (Twitter/Instagram): -/Joel_baden

International Champs & medals:

World Juniors (2014), World Championships (2015), Olympic Games (2016), Commonwealth Games (2018)

Joel Baden grew up in Geelong and started athletics when his parents took him to Little Athletics. Between 16 and 18-years, his high jump best gradually rose from 2.12 to 2.20m. It earned him a berth at the 2014 IAAF World Juniors where he made the final. Seemingly his first experience on the international stage spurred him on as three months later, at a schoolboy meet in Melbourne, he cleared an extraordinary 2.29m, winning the competition by 34cm. The clearance delivered him a qualifier for the 2015 IAAF World Championships where, as a teenager, he performed well clearing 2.26m and was just one height short of a finals berth. During the 2015/16 domestic season, he managed a best of 2.24m and placed second at the nationals. He required 2.29m to qualify for Rio, a height he achieved in late June in Cairns. In Rio, he cleared 2.17m in the qualifying rounds. He won the 2017 Australian Championships with a modest 2.18m.

It was a strong start to the 2018 domestic season for Baden with two 2.20m leaps and a 2.24m clearance. The defending national champion placed equal second at the 2018 Australian Championships with a height of 2.21m. At the Commonwealth Games he was knocked out in the qualifying rounds with a clearance of 2.15m. Following a 2018/19 domestic season with a best of just 2.20m, at the national championships, Joel was a surprise winner at a PB height of 2.30m (= #5 Australian all-time), securing a Doha World Championships qualifier.

Hobbies/Interests – Playing and producing music, philosophy and science

Influence – “My coach Sandro Bisetto would be one of them. He took me under his wing when I was in early high school, which was a huge change and benefit to my jumping, especially given his experience and history coaching some of the best Australian high jumpers, including Olympic bronze medallist and national record holder Tim Forsyth. He’s a great mentor.”

Profiles with Athletics Australia