Jemima Montag is a dual Olympic medallist and the Australian record holder for the 20km racewalk.
She balances training with a full time medical degree, with an interest in public health.
In her role as an International Olympic Committee Young Leader Jemima founded ‘Play On’, a program designed to give adolescent girls the knowledge and skills they need to overcome barriers to physical activity.
Jemima loves sharing stories from her career with audiences and translating the valuable lessons she learns in high performance sport over to daily practice to help us all fulfill our potential.
Talking Points
An Olympian’s Toolbox: Elite Mindset Tools for your Business
This presentation translates key lessons from high performance sport and psychology for businesses and teams who hope to maximise their potential. Jemima will use interesting examples from her sporting career and extract key take-aways for the audience in areas such as cognitive expansion, approaching challenges, and removing the fear of failure.An Olympian’s Toolbox: Elite Mindset Tools for your Business
Outcomes:
- Start with self awareness - a simple Venn diagram
- An introduction to cognitive expansion to make room for discomfort and pressure.
- An approach to reframing challenges as opportunities for growth
- How to be better than your competitors using a self-referential focus and determining your superpowers
- The difference between wanting success but not needing it
- The freedom that comes with articulating our identity beyond what we ‘do’
- The balancing act - how to juggle multiple commitments and look after yourself
- Are we motivated by fear or by our values, and why does it matter?
- Our cultural tendency to be passive is holding us back - becoming intentional and willing
- Remove the fear of failure by understanding the subtle difference between disappointment and regret
- Why so many of us underperform when the pressure is on - a simple approach to executing what matters and performing every time.
Women in Sport
Having experienced the challenging journey from a sporty little girl to the Olympic Games, Jemima understands how transformative sport can be for women and girls. She has also seen her sisters and friends drop out of sport, and is passionate about sharing solutions to these unique barriers with audiences. This presentation’s key message is about using sport as a vehicle through which women can learn invaluable life skills such as leadership, confidence, self-awareness, dedication, and resilience. By translating these life skills from the sporting field into workplaces, relationships, and daily life - we can see huge advances in the 5th Sustainable Development Goal of gender equality.Women in Sport
Outcomes:
- What are the current barriers to women and girls’ participation in sport and physical activity?
- Cultural barriers - language, uniforms, social norms, media
- Physical barriers - facilities, lighting, design of sporting spaces
- The gender data gap - research is catching up after decades of placing the female body in the ‘too hard’ basket
- The transformative power of sport for gender equality
Play On
Girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of their male counterparts, with enduring consequences for their physical and mental health. This presentation is designed for 12-18 years old girls, and takes them through the four key barriers to physical activity: female health literacy, body image, nutrition, and inclusive spaces. Delivered by a female Olympian with lived experience in this space, the audience will leave with the knowledge and skills the need to Play On in a way that suits them.Play On
Outcomes:
- An overview of the menstrual cycle, its impact on sporting performance, and tangible solutions for how to manage these effects
- A shift towards body acceptance and neutrality. Why body image is even more challenging in sporting landscapes, and how we can shift the focus from form to function.
- An Olympian’s approach to sports nutrition, a warning about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, and ideas for fuelling an active day.
- The simple things to do well that also impact girls’ participation in sport: diverse uniform options, adequate lighting and facilities, female staff, and a focus on fun.
Video
IOC Young Leader Jemima Montag: Paris 2024 medal hopeful is encouraging girls to Play On
Having recovered from a difficult period that left her questioning her dedication to sport, Olympic race walker and Paris 2024-bound Jemima Montag is using her experiences to inspire girls in Australia to stay engaged with sport through her IOC Young Leaders project, Play On.The most important lessons in sport with Jemima Montag
Community, belonging, dedication, leadership and friendship… these are the life lessons race walker Jemima Montag says are most important in her sporting career. With such a strong mindset and achievable advice for young girls wanting to play sports, it’s no wonder Australia has fallen in love with this #Paris2024 Olympic bronze medallist!
