A chance encounter with the sport of racewalking in Little Athletics changed Jemima Montag's life forever. By her own admission, Montag was "so bad" at other track and field events but racewalking called for something different: stamina, faultless technique and steely focus. Blessed with slow-twitch muscle fibers, the Brighton girl (in Melbourne's south-east) quickly dominated the long-distance discipline.
In 2018, she suprised Australia and the world by claiming a gold medal in the 20 km walk event at the Commonwealth Games. In recent years she's continued her rise: reaching the top 10 in the world and now, less than two months out from the Tokyo Olympic Games, is angling to beat the world's best. To do that, she'll need to overcome the uncertainty of Covid, a hampered preparation and the intense heat of a Japanese summer.