Marathon runner Sinead Diver challenging stereotypes and breaking barriers

Tokyo Together, Australian Olympic Team

Marathon runner and mother of two Sinead Diver is the eldest member of the Australian Athletics Team for Tokyo 2020 at age 44 – and she’s considered a fairly newcomer to the gruelling sport.

Melbourne-based Diver shares her unique story from growing up in a small country town in Ireland where sport was not encouraged for girls, to doing her first fun-run to improve her fitness following the birth of her son at age 33.

Over the next decade, Diver transitioned from running novice to three-time World Championships representative, and has been selected for her debut Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020.

Diver shares how she balances training, work and spending time with her family, how she mentally prepares to run the demanding 42-km race, and her hopes and dreams for her Olympic debut.

At the time of recording this episode, Diver and her fellow Athletics Australia marathon teammates were in Queensland preparing to race the Gold Coast Marathon, however, the event was unfortunately cancelled this week due to the progressing COVID-19 situation.