Linden Hall has been named as one of Athletics Australia’s captains of the Paris Olympics.
With five Olympic Games and 16 World Championships between them, a quartet comprised of Michelle Jenneke, Hall, Rhydian Cowley and Dan Golubovic will steer the ship for the Australian Athletics Team at the Paris Olympic Games next week.
Voted into the captaincy by their peers based on experience, their adaptability at major championships as well as their ability to bring both energy and fun to the environment, the leadership team will look to bring cohesion to the team as the cohort of 75 individual athletes embark on their Parisian quest.
For distance runner Hall, the opportunity to mentor debutants has been a driving force for her continued leadership after captaining the team at the Oregon and Budapest World Athletics Championships.
Hall grew up in Riddells Creek.
“It’s nice to have that endorsement of your peers and it’s cool to get to lead it with a group of people so it’s not just on your shoulders. It’s cool to have the opportunity to share your experience and learnings and what was special to you at your first Games. We’ve got so many first-timers on the team this time around which is really exciting.” Hall said.
“We have a really good collective of people here, and it’s about being able to connect people and get to know everyone, share our experience and being someone that they feel comfortable with.”
The captains were announced to the wider Australian Athletics team this week and the group will now work together at the Athletics Australia staging camp in Montpellier, France to help prepare the team in the final days before the Olympics begin.
The Australian Athletics team will begin their Olympic campaign on August 1, with the commencement of the athletics program.