In this episode, “Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Lumbar Bone Stress and Hamstring Injuries,” Kevin Craigie, Richard Saw and Cory Innes explore two of the most significant injury challenges in athletics: hamstring injuries and lumbar bone stress injuries.

Led by Kevin Craigie, Australian Athletics’ High Performance Network Physiotherapy Lead, Richard Saw, Australian Athletics’ Chief Medical Officer, and Cory Innes, Australian Athletics’ High Performance Strength and Conditioning Lead, the discussion looks at how coaches can better understand injury patterns, identify key risk factors, and make informed training decisions that protect athletes while still supporting performance outcomes.

The episode covers hamstring injury trends in speed based events, including the role of high speed exposure, fatigue, strength qualities, tissue capacity, training age and life load. It also explores lumbar bone stress injuries, why they can be difficult to identify early, and how load management, recovery, technical progression, energy availability and early referral can help reduce risk.

“Every time we find a weakness, we find a key to the next breakthrough.”

In this coaching education session, Nicola Olyslagers shares a rare insight into the mindset behind world class performance.

Nicola speaks openly about pressure, comparison, failure, confidence, athlete identity and the long term process of improvement. Through stories from major championships, tough training blocks and her relationship with her coach Matt, she shows that mindset is not just something athletes either have or do not have. It is a skill that can be trained, reviewed and strengthened over time.

For coaches, this episode offers practical lessons on communication, trust, simple competition cues and helping athletes stay connected to progress when results are not coming quickly. For athletes, it is a powerful reminder that missed attempts, nerves and setbacks are not signs that you are failing. They are often the clearest clues for what to work on next.

Nicola also explores how she separates her worth from performance, why comparison can drain passion, how she reframes pressure as an opportunity, and why celebrating competitors can lift the entire event. It is an honest, generous and deeply practical conversation for anyone involved in track and field.

In this episode we examine the physiology of ageing through the lens of Masters Athletics. We unpack the evidence on age-related changes in height, muscle mass, bone density and cardiovascular function, and explore how these influence performance in sprinting, distance running and field events.

Source: Physiology and Performance of Masters Athletes

More importantly, we look at how structured training in strength, endurance and speed can mitigate decline and extend athletic capacity well beyond what is typically expected. Drawing on current research and real examples, this episode highlights how Masters athletes continue to set benchmarks that challenge traditional views of human performance across the lifespan.