Mitchell Watt

Occupation

Student

Education

Commerce, Law - University of Queensland, Australia

Club name

QEII Track Club, Brisbane, QLD, AUS

Coach

Gary Bourne (AUS) from 2007 (theage.com.au, 13 Feb 2012)

Sporting relatives

A talented junior Australian rules football player, he also excelled at rugby union and was chosen as a reserve for the Queensland schoolboys rugby team. (abc.net.au, 25 Feb 2010)

Debut

2009 for Australia (athletics.com.au, 10 Aug 2010)

Injuries

He was hampered by an Achilles problem during the 2011 season. He took a month off at the end of the season before resuming training in October 2011. However, the problem persisted and he underwent another four week rehabilitation process. (theage.com.au, 17 Feb 2012)

He suffered a calf injury at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Korea. (heraldsun.com.au, 03 Feb 2012)

He missed most of the 2010 season with a groin injury. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 26 Jun 2011)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
He began athletics at a young age and won multiple Australian junior long jump titles, but he quit at age 14 to pursue other sports. In late 2007 he was introduced to his coach Gary Bourne and despite narrowly missing the 2008 Olympic qualification mark, he was convinced by Bourne to continue pursuing long jump at elite level. (daegu2011.iaaf.org, 18 Aug 2011)

Ambitions
To win an Olympic medal. (QAS, 10 Aug 2010)

Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning a silver medal at the World Championships in South Korea in 2011, "It is weird. It is the highlight of my career probably but it doesn't feel like it." (smh.com.au, 03 Sep 2011)

Hero
English footballer Wayne Rooney. (QAS, 10 Aug 2010)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"Only do what you enjoy." (QAS, 10 Aug 2010)

Awards
He became Australia's youngest male medallist at a world championships when he won bronze in the long jump at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. (athletics.com.au, 10 Aug 2010)

General
LONDON PREPARATION
He chose to skip the Australian domestic season in early 2012 in an effort to fully recover from calf and Achilles injuries. (heraldsun.com.au, 02 Mar 2012)

RECORD
In July 2011 he broke an 11-year-old Australian record in the long jump, jumping 8.54m at. the Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden. The previous record of 8.49m was set by Jai Taurima when he won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. "To finally jump Jai's record is just so special, I watched him set that mark in my lounge room when I was 12 years old." (athletics.com.au, 2011)

TIME OUT
A four-time Australian junior long jump champion, he quit athletics in 2001. After first playing Australian rules football, he later played rugby and was selected for the Queensland schoolboys squad in 2005. He eventually quit rugby to focus on his studies. He returned to long jump in 2007 after a chance meeting with a former teammate. "I'd put on a little weight and was going out too much. I figured that at worst I'd get to hang out with these guys a bit more and get a bit fitter. I definitely had no intention of ever becoming an elite athlete when I first went back to training [in 2007]." (dailytelegraph.com.au, 26 Jul 2011; smh.com.au, 27 Aug 2011; nytimes.com, 17 Jan 2012)

WALLABY FRIENDSHIP
His is friends with Australian rugby players Will Genia and Quade Cooper from his days playing schoolboys rugby. The trio still keep in regular contact. "Will and Quade sent me a text when I broke the Australian record, that was nice. We're at opposite ends of the world at the moment, but we do keep in touch when we can." (smh.com.au, 27 Aug 2011)