On Side

To understand the integrity threats within sports, Sport Integrity Australia works in close partnership with everyone who holds a piece to the puzzle – including athletes. In this episode of On Side, join Tim Gavel as he chats to three of our Athlete Advisory Group (AAG) members - former Olympic rower Bronwen Downie, Paralympic triathlete Jonathan Goerlach and Blake Gaudry, a dual Olympic trampoli...

Between them, there are too many Paralympic medals to count – but the Commonwealth Games will be a unique experience for both Ellie Cole and Daniela Di Toro, for vastly different reasons. In this episode of On Side, join Tim Gavel as he chats to Ellie and Daniela as they train for the Commonwealth Games which starts on 28 July – one for the last time, the other the first. Ellie, who ha...

Former West Coast Eagles captain Eric Mackenzie has been announced as the latest member of Sport Integrity Australia’s Athlete Advisory Group.  In this episode of On Side, join Tim Gavel as he chats to Eric Mackenzie and Petria Thomas to talk about joining the Athlete Advisory Group, and how the group can be used to make meaningful strides in athlete education.  The 2014 John Worsf...

Travelling 140km/h downhill head-first on ice is not for the faint-hearted, but Jackie Narracott is no shrinking violet. After her first attempt at the sport, she asked: how do I go faster? Ahead of her second Winter Olympics, which starts in Beijing next week, Narracott talks to On Side about her switch from the track, what it’s like going head-first at 140km/h, her hopes for the upcoming G...

Australian swimmer Brenton Rickard’s world was turned upside down when a retest of a urine sample taken at the 2012 London Olympics returned a “low-level” positive result. With his entire relay team set to be stripped of a bronze medal, Rickard talks to On Side about the difficulties in challenging the allegations eight years later - and at his own expense. Rickard, who believes...

Welcome to Season 3 of On Side. We’re looking forward to monthly episodes as we get ready for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, along with the men’s World Cup and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.   Join Tim Gavel as he chats to James Johnson, Emma Johnson and Jacob Holmes, during this pivotal time in Australian sport, and hear them reflect on the potential imp...

In the final edition of our Clean and Gold series of On Side, we relive the Paralympic Games highlights with the team’s chef de mission Kate McLoughlin and Channel 7 commentator David Culbert. Madi de Rozario’s gold and the silver to Jaryd Clifford on the final day of competition brought the team total to 21 gold, 29 silver and 30 bronze. McLoughlin tells hosts Tim Gavel and Petria Tho...

This episode of Clean and Gold celebrates the Paralympic Games – an event that is so often referred to as “more than sport”. Hosted by Tim Gavel and three-time Olympic gold medallist Petria Thomas, this edition features Paralympic mentor and former Australian head coach Chris Nunn and Paralympic hopeful, swimmer Ahmed Kelly. Nunn, who works as a consultant with the Oceania Paraly...

It was billed as “the Olympics the world had to have” and it certainly delivered. This episode of Clean and Gold looks back at the Games’ highlights and features two of our gold medallists, rowers Lucy Stephan and Alex Purnell. Stephan, who grew up in Nhill - a town with no water for years, says she was “prepared for anything” when her races were delayed by an approac...

Hosted by Tim Gavel and three-time Olympic gold medallist Petria Thomas, this blockbuster edition of our Clean And Gold series features champion sprinter Raelene Boyle, four-time Olympian Bronwen Knox and dual Olympic and Paralympic table tennis player Milly Tapper. Raelene burst on to the scene at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico as a 16-year-old, taking home a silver medal in the 200m sprint. She wen...

Hosted by Tim Gavel and three-time Olympic gold medallist Petria Thomas, this Clean And Gold episode features two-time Paralympic gold medallist Chris Bond and Olympic gold medallist Kim Brennan (nee Crow). Bond, who was 19 when he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia which resulted in amputation of both his legs below the knee, says it was the power of sport that helped him adjust to life...

At On Side we are celebrating the impending Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo with a special Clean and Gold series. Hosted by Tim Gavel and three-time Olympic gold medallist Petria Thomas, our Clean And Gold series features some of Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic greats about their Olympic journey. Today we speak to two-time Olympic gold medallist Anna Meares and Paralympic gold medal...

Players, coaches, commentators, fans ... when you’re a match official, everyone has an opinion about your performance on the field. In the latest episode of On Side we talk to retired Australian football referee Ben Williams, who had a 25-year career in the sport, NRL touch judge Kasey Badger, and Grant Jones, whose path to officialdom was unusual to say the least, about the pressures faced...

There is growing evidence that multiple concussions may increase the risk of experiencing a range of diseases and cognitive impairments later in life. In latest episode of On Side we talk to former Wallabies player Peter FitzSimons, whose personal crusade against concussion started 15 years ago, Alan Pearce, Associate Professor at La Trobe University and Research Manager at Australian Sports Brain...

The dearth of women in leadership and in high performance coaching roles is still a problem in sport. In latest episode of On Side we talk to former Sport Australia CEO Kate Palmer on the gulf in parity that still exists in high performance sport and what needs to be done to help women transition into these roles. Palmer says sports need to take a “proactive approach” to, not just equa...

One in three elite athletes report experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression at some time during or post their sporting career. In the seventh and latest episode of On Side, we examine the prevalence of mental health issues in sport, sports’ duty of care to ensure the wellbeing of athletes and what’s being done to address these issues. We talk to Clinical Psychologist Mary Spilla...

This highlight edition of our podcast On Side features our chat with AIS Chief Medical Officer Dr David Hughes on inclusion in sport following last year’s release of the Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport. Dr Hughes says transgender and gender diversity is not a sport issue, it’s a societal issue. “It’s important that sport at all...

In this highlight edition of our podcast On Side we take a peek at some of the best interviews so far. This includes our chat with 2008 and 2012 Paralympic cycling gold medallist Michael Gallagher. Prior to the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, Gallagher tested positive for recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) at a training camp in Italy. Still under sanction, Gallagher talked about the biggest impact his s...

Cricket icon Belinda Clark has blazed her way into the record books and is just as fearless off the field, paving a way for women in sport. In the sixth and latest episode of On Side Clark, the first player, male or female, to score a double century in a one-dayer, talks about the highlights of an illustrious career – on and off the field – and the rise and rise of women’s sport....

A self-confessed adrenaline addict with the injuries to prove it – Caroline Buchanan is held together by bolts, wires, plates … you name it. For a decade this eight-time World Champion was at the top, but is now in unfamiliar territory - as the underdog. In the fifth and latest episode of On Side, Buchanan candidly talks about building not only her brand but her sport, her triumphs, s...

Guests: Eloise Wellings, Madeline Hills, Michael Crooks, Carrie Graf, Keely Froling & Heather McKay How far has women’s sport come? Events like Australia's Twenty20 World Cup with a crowd of 90,000 in March suggest a long way. In episode four of our Sport Integrity Australia podcast ‘On Side’, we discuss parity in sport - where we’ve come from and what still needs to be...

Guests: Jessica Hansen, Steve Jackson & Michael Roeger Ever since he was a young boy growing up in Langhorne Creek, three-time Paralympian Michael Roeger has dreamed of winning gold for his country. In Sport Integrity Australia’s third edition of its podcast ‘On Side’ Michael talks about the Tokyo 2020 setback given his “hot” start to the year, his penchant for ma...

Guests: Melissa Breen, Cassie Fien & Craig Phillips Commonwealth Games Australia’s chief executive officer Craig Phillips is the most capped Olympic team official in Australian sporting history and has 35 years’ experience in the sports industry. In Sport Integrity Australia’s second edition of its podcast ‘On Side’ we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the sportin...

Guests: Katrina Fanning, Emma Johnson, Adam Cook & Naomi Speers Katrina Fanning is an Australian women’s sport pioneer, an Indigenous champion and rugby league legend. On Sport Integrity Australia’s first edition of it’s podcast ‘On Side’ we discuss Fanning’s illustrious career, the issue of racism within sports and the role sport plays in reducing barriers....

The National Sports Tribunal CEO John Boultbee says the tribunal is an “overdue” opportunity for sporting bodies, athletes and support personnel. “It’s the first time Australia has had its own Sports Tribunal to hear all matters from all sports and to be at arm’s length from the sports and provide an independent and transparent service,” Boultbee says. The highly respected senior sports administra...