Bridie O'Donnell took to cycling late, but a rapid rise to the top ranks of the Australian scene fuelled her ambitions. She is currently on secondment to the Department of Health as Area of Operation Controller for the South-East Metro region in the COVID-19 response. The joy of having secured that first pro-contract was quickly dented by some fairly harsh realities, not the least of which was seeing the damage some cyclists were prepared to inflict on their bodies inthe pursuit of success. "It was the ideal way to grow up I suppose; my sister and I would explore all day long and then go to school during the week," she said. It became a vicious cycle. And if I had had men in the public service say youll never be able to be this boss of this office and run this budget do make this change because youve never done it before then. And its amazing what it is to be constantly comparing yourselves to world champions because firstly you have to learn to deal disappointment on a regular basis but what it also does is it actually really reframes your way of thinking about well what can what do I need to do to perform. conversations from the world of women's sports. I mean being an elite athlete and representing your country or being the best in the world is such an incredibly privileged little bubble to live in. Its where May speaking it you know over 120 events panels conferences et cetera in the last 18 months supports that is driving that message home that leadership can look different. And I do find myself thinking that a lot whatever work Im doing I think you know what Ive been in a worse situation than this. He was a loud, confident, successful and brash 30-something whose squad contained World Champions, Olympians and World Cup winners in an era when Olympic Distance triathlon was a huge money earner.. And the other beautiful thing that sport teaches you is just how good you can be at something when you focus on it. These are the procedures he performs and you get a sense of the job. [00:02:41] How did that organization come about when did it get its funding. And the idea around comparison is actually incredibly unhelpful and quite ignorant by a lot of commentators. Former international cyclist Dr Bridie O'Donnell has replaced wealthy businessman Alex Waislitz, who quit suddenly yesterday. [00:35:56] Systems around unconscious bias around myths of maintaining confidentiality so we dont want to have a mentee follow the head coach male coach around or retaining information and privacy that you cant have women in mens spaces because you know sexuality issues or nudity or whatever. In November, 2017, Bridie was appointed the inaugural Head of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation by the Victorian Government and in May, 2018 she published Life and Death a cycling memoir about her experiences as a professional cyclist in the international peloton. But I think thats a long conversation and when I do that we can solve it here now. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Whats that look like for you now. [00:21:41] Its a great question. You know these are the things that shape us for when were sitting in a very difficult meeting with difficult personalities or when we have staff who are feeling unrecognized via a process thats happening whether thats in government or in medical industries and as I said Ive been a doctor for a very long time. [00:25:13] And of course here in the States so many are owned by my wealthy people you know of the Womens Soccer League here in the States. Theres theres thousands of reasons that get put forward as to why a woman cant actually follow around the head coach of a mens cricket team and just think OK what does this job look like and how would I do it if it were me because thats how I learned how to be a doctor. And yet the WNBA all is a really as a league that is struggling and has struggled to get investment. Thats sort of resistent attitude. As a doctor, and being well aware of ideal training methods, nutrition and exercise physiology after spending three years studying for my sports medicine exams, I knew what I was seeing was unsustainable in the short term and unhealthy in the long term. Until the next time. My sessions were always prescribed by Donna [Rae-Szalinski]; they were time trial-specific, and often focused on flat roads, whereas my teammate would put in four or five hours of slow pedalling, then maybe some climbs, usually across the highway towards Sienna. We are in such a rapid time of change that its quite discombobulating. But my goodness it does allow you a context and help you deal with strong personalities and we say that a lot in where Im working now as a sports administrator or working in government. They came away from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games last year with some pretty sobering data. Systems are the problem. During her residency she was a rower and then an iron man triathlete and finished theq Ironman highway world championship in 2006. And she said if thats how theyre talking about me on social media what are they. Im sick of people saying thats not our job to do this or were just waiting for a bigger sponsor. Were making sure we support every organisation and their attacks on. [00:07:56] But I was a very academic kid and so I studied really hard through high school and I was completely mediocre at team sports and I wanted to be a leader like I was so desperately trying to be the best athlete and I just wasnt I didnt have enough speed I didnt have enough agility and all those things that you do when youre playing netball and touch football and some of the sports that have really big in teams here in Queensland. [00:34:19] And how about the increase in female coaches. And I do find myself thinking that a lot whatever work Im doing I think you know what Ive been in a worse situation than this. and theres been so such a lack of diverse thinking that you know these people generally all the same age that probably went to school together and so by by asking them to have a quota and bring women in. Bridie ODonnell took to cycling late, but a rapid rise to the top ranks of the Australian scene fuelled her ambitions. And look were winning the mens ashes too. Bridie O Donnell Private Life. We have had women meddling in basketball at the Olympics for five six Olympics and yet and we have some of the best basketball is in the world have come from Australia. Learn How rich is She in this year and how She spends money? So these are things like nipple Victoria hockey Victoria swimming Victoria and three years ago before I even started they were instructed that there would be a board quota. So what we know about women in sport in Australia is it has extraordinary links to the importance of just challenging our rigid gender stereotypes. So sports shapes you in all of these ways and you you I guess you have this benchmark and you think you know what I have done harder shit than this. Head Coach - Rowing South Australian Sports Institute Aug 2022 - Present5 months Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Head of Rowing Xavier College Aug 2020 - Aug 20222 years 1 month Senior High. O'Donnell said her primary education was also unique, going to the Blackall Range Independent School, which shunned traditional classroom education and held many lessons run by parents. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked in the Industry Recovery Group of Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, and was then appointed Executive Director for the Public Events Team. But O'Donnell said after nearly a year of preparation, when she spent thousands of dollars on a bike and partaking in a strict anti-doping protocol, the record attempt was surprisingly easy. Taylor Harris herself was interviewed on the radio sort of saying I know you shouldnt read the comments but Ive read them and these are by some men whove got women in their profile pictures you know wives and probably kids. Where should there be time slots in broadcast opportunities and how can we get the free to air channels to show the nipple World Cup or why. From 2013-2016, Bridie also managed and raced for Rush Womens Team, a National Road Series cycling team in Australia. [00:39:10] Its just it can be overwhelming but I hope it can be rewarding too and youll youll see absolutely the changes. There are still definitely haters and trolls and people who are abusive. Then, in her mid-30s, ODonnell made the sharp pivot to professional cycling, a field where she found great success. These werent really. I had some staff by the time we got to April 2018 and so weve been up and running. In 2016, at age 42, she broke the womens world record for the longest distance covered by bike in one hour. O'Donnell set the record at the the Adelaide Super-Drome, which is a far cry from her family house in Obi Obi Valley, where her family lived off-the-grid. , money, salary, income, and assets. I dont know if you saw just recently there were some moderate criticism about the scheduling of the nipple World Cup that they played a lot of games in a short space of time which for Lisa Alexander the coach of the diamonds said you know she felt that the time is now to expand that tournament to greater numbers of days which of course takes greater investment to allow the athletes to give their best so that theyre at their best and theyre not actually fatigued by the final game and obviously New Zealand had such an extraordinary performance there to win again. Theres no way were going to get that across the line. But that said you know the mens AFL league started over 100 years ago with zero scrutiny and social media to criticize it. And what Im asking them to do is think differently about something and that can be for some of them deeply threatening. [00:30:53] And what has happened is seven white straight men have put their hand up. I discovered this when I was a professional cyclist, and realised it was the only way to be comfortable while squished in the back of a team van during the long 14-hour road trip all the way from central Italy to northern Spain for a bike race. [00:35:41] So what we know about women as coaches is that their lack of qualifications is not the thing. They could do it five years ago they would probably struggle and so well I think we need to determine the barriers. Theyre powerful for women and theyre equally powerful for boys and men. Just a little over 18 months I want to dig a little bit deeper into what youre working on now because Australia of course seems in many ways to tell us and the rest of the world is one of the leaders when it comes to womens sports in terms of equality and opportunity facilities and so on. And if youve said to me a year ago that Id be sitting down with other jurisdictions and talking about how important it was that we are going to bid for the Womens World Cup football in 2023 to host that in four years time I would have thought Id. If we were to simplify wed say our three strategic priorities are increasing the number of girls and women participating in sport and aggression. [00:04:31] You can imagine there were dozens or they said to me you know 100 women and men applied for this job. Women and what they when they dug down into these. As a medical practitioner and a professional athlete with experience across many sports, my opinions are always shaped by a mixture of theoretical and practical knowledge. But what were seeing now is many more questions about how Okay okay we get it but how are we going to do it. So we have a lot more men and in fact five times as many boys and men play competitive and organised sport in Victoria as do girls women girls women are active at the same rates. And so what weve seen with now three complete seasons of AFL WS Thats the Womens Australian Rules. Now if we come back to Australia and we look at the WB ls a great example we have the fourth season of The Womens Big Bash. So people were engaging then theyd know they know they all know who Alex Perry and Alyssa Healy and all these players are now because they saw the footage of them they know those names are recognizable and now every woman and man who is a cricket fan in Australia they can name those players that someone said Can you name five women who play cricket. Ive been an athlete than a successful athlete. It has the largest population and the City of Melbourne as its capital has a barometer Metro Melbourne has a population of around six million. Thank you for joining me. As long as many more episodes of different shows we have now over a thousand episodes and a global audience reach now of more than three million. Devastatingly however, it was working: her illnessI saw it clearly as an illnesswas performance-enhancing. Shes very tall incredible flexibility of this photograph of her kicking so her legs completely apart almost 90 degrees flexible hips incredible flexible flexibility and strength. Peggy is an amazing trailblazer here in Australia and she chaired and there were some very important influential powerful athletes and administrators women and men involved in this inquiry that published a report at the end of 12 months and what they had looked into were some specific data around a number of women girls participating in sport access to facilities that these women and girls have number of women in leadership positions in sport. Six years of med school was helpful but actually following around the senior doctor and thinking Okay heres what being a surgeon involves. While working in Intensive Care and studying for physician exams, Bridie competed first in rowing . Where are you. [00:34:33] They came away from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games last year with some pretty sobering data. Now shes a young AFL footballer playing for Carlton who has not only incredible strength and agility but she has this kicking style thats very characteristic for her. The first day she gets it and I am living breathing example of that that I had never worked in government before and all I was was just a washed up athlete doctor. A few decades later, my grandfather decided to propose to my grandmother, and he asked his future mother-in-law for the medal. So sports shapes you in all of these ways and you you I guess you have this benchmark and you think you know what I have done harder shit than this. Ultimately the hard work, planning, persistence and determination lead her to. They drop out at all different parts of their lives milestones of their lives for example university or pregnancy or menopause or an aged parts of their lives. So it actually wasnt until I was in my second year of medical school I went straight into medical school out of high school and I started doing a triathlon. Bridie O'Donnell Net Worth Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Dr O'Donnell is a medical doctor, graduating from the University of Queensland's school of medicine in 1998 and is the current head of the Office for Woman in Sport and Recreation for the Victorian State Government. And yet we have over 30000 girls and women registered to play was he rules in this state and hundreds more that are paid teach physical education teachers or former coaches in other jobs that could be highly qualified to do that. So its one of the biggest cities. You fail a lot. It also saved me when we would arrive at 2.5 star motels with awful pillows that inevitably led to terrible sleep. My pleasure. [00:02:45] In 2015 there was an inquiry into women and girls in sport and active recreation here in Victoria which was actually initiated by the then opposition government and then implemented by the current government. That access is all a part of being accessible right the accessibility of sport. So you know there are opportunities out there. Weve had a multibillionaire man invest in the NBL here and he owns the league and a couple of teams but no multibillionaire is common said. So the other another problem them for example is the AFL. Her argument would be that all those smaller concerns over her long-term health could be dealt with later in life. And since Title 9 in the United States were seeing now a third generation of girls and women benefiting from legislation that allows them to receive the same financial support at universities. They would have a budget over a four year cycle and they would then work alongside the Department of Sport and Rec to oversee policy. You are my reputation as a sporting nation but just to give a little bit about Graham Brady is to your sporting history because youve been very involved with sport actively as a triathlete and then as a cyclist. As long as many more episodes of different shows we have now over a thousand episodes and a global audience reach now of more than three million. Its all of the things that I experience which is you lose a lot. Pic: Collingwood FC/Instagram. But, like so many young women I would encounter in my time racing, she would only allow me to be a doctor on her terms. Eighty five per cent of those women were new women. Thank you so much. When I offered an unsolicited opinionone that in any way questioned maladaptive or unhealthy behaviorit was greeted with silence, a dismissive and wagging finger, or eye-rolling. The citation noted Dr O'Donnell's extensive work as a physician, professional athlete and gender equality expert, becoming the inaugural Director of the Victorian Government's Office for Women in Sport and Recreation . So we have a lot more men and in fact five times as many boys and men play competitive and organised sport in Victoria as do girls women girls women are active at the same rates. Weve seen as we said three seasons of AFL W and yet in this third season 0 teams of the 10 were coached by women which is mind boggling. Dont rub it in an area had it right. And then about nine months later they announced that there would be a campaign sort of suite of initiatives called change again. Lets say my former sport cycling incredible para cycling bombs as by Australians in the last world championships. Ive been an athlete than a successful athlete. You know these are the difficult things to manage training when its cold and wet and rainy is actually quite simple compared to inter family tensions or a difficult boss or trying to manage team leaders or staff that you you just cannot seem to get on the same level. So all I need to do my job is curiosity persistence support from my employer and my colleagues and a willingness to learn and anyone can do any job when they had those four characteristics. Less than 10 per cent of the coaches of all teams at the Commonwealth Games were women and worse than that. Bridie graduated as valedictorian from the University of Queensland medical school and won the G R S last prize for the most outstanding intern in 1999. My pleasure. [00:11:35] So all of those things are challenging. They drop out at all different parts of their lives milestones of their lives for example university or pregnancy or menopause or an aged parts of their lives. Bob Marleys daughter who owns the Jamaican womens team the Thai billionaire who has funded the Thai womens team you know. How we overcome this hurdle of you know challenging the networks to make this free to air and satisfying the sponsors and getting the coverage that women need in the media. I think no go do the deal with our channel 7 9 or 10 or ABC or SBS which are our national broadcasters because its not good enough anymore to just say oh thats not our job. [00:02:25] Well its an opportunity to learn about what you doing there at the Office for Women and Sport and Recreation because its the one and only organization of its kind in the in Australia as I understand it. So were not even retaining our high performance coaches from one Commonwealth Games to another. [00:02:16] I began by asking Bridie how the organisation came about. These are the kinds of conversations he has. Here, she tells us about the pillow that made her many cheap motel stays bearable, as well as the story of two other significant belongings. Peggy is an amazing trailblazer here in Australia and she chaired and there were some very important influential powerful athletes and administrators women and men involved in this inquiry that published a report at the end of 12 months and what they had looked into were some specific data around a number of women girls participating in sport access to facilities that these women and girls have number of women in leadership positions in sport. On 22 January 2016 O'Donnell broke the Womens UCI Hour Record at the Adelaide Super-Drome. But that said you know the mens AFL league started over 100 years ago with zero scrutiny and social media to criticize it. Now if we come back to Australia and we look at the WB ls a great example we have the fourth season of The Womens Big Bash. 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bridie o donnell private life