4TG

#40 Spinal Surgery to Comeback: Competing When the System Wasn’t Built for You, With Meredith Young

• Kylie Lynch • Season 2 • Episode 40

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 Meredith Young has achondroplasia – the most common form of dwarfism. She grew up in a family that lived and breathed sport, represented Australia across basketball, swimming, athletics and badminton, and became the fastest short-statured woman in the world. Without a sprint coach. Just pure heart and Asics on.

In 2009, she captained Australia's first ever team at the World Dwarf Games in Belfast. Then in 2013 she competed again – knowing her spine was deteriorating – because sport was her sanity. Months later she woke up from spinal surgery unable to move her legs.

This conversation goes everywhere. The netball coach who told a young Meredith she was a "danger" to her teammates. Fundraising Bunnings barbecues to get fifteen athletes to Belfast. Beating her ex-husband in the badminton medal round. Three and a half months in hospital. And what it takes to find your way back to sport when your body has fundamentally changed.

Meredith is one of the most generous, honest guests we've had on It's For The Girls. This one will shift how you think about difference, resilience, and what it actually means to belong in sport.

In this episode we cover:

  • Growing up in mainstream sport with achondroplasia and finding competitive advantage in difference
  • The netball coach who told Meredith she was a "danger" – and the lifelong impact of a coach's words
  • Building and captaining Australia's first World Dwarf Games team from a Bunnings barbecue budget
  • Becoming the fastest short-statured woman in the world with zero formal sprint training
  • Two major spinal surgeries, losing the ability to walk, and the long road back
  • The psychology of recovery – when sport is your identity and your body takes it away
  • Why being born different is not a limitation but a pathway to becoming a more whole person

Follow Meredith & Links

Instagram: @meredith_young

Donate towards the 2027 Gold Coast World Dwarf Games

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ABOUT THE HOST

Kylie Lynch is the Founder and Host of 4TG (For The Girls), a podcast and platform on a mission to keep more girls and women in sport.

A VFLW athlete, Australian representative in Polocrosse, coach, mentor and media/communications professional, Kylie has spent her career at the intersection of sport, media and community impact. Through 4TG, she shares the stories, lessons and experiences of elite athletes, coaches and industry leaders to help girls and women build confidence, navigate challenges and stay involved in sport for longer. Because sport doesn't just build athletes. It builds confidence, resilience, leadership, connection and opportunities that positively impact girls and women both on and off the field.

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