The Jake Dearden Podcast

James Kelly - #28

The Jake Dearden Podcast

Show Notes

In this episode James Kelly joins the podcast to talk about his rise from Aussie Rules football to becoming one of the world’s top HYROX athletes. We dive into elite training, mindset, pressure, coaching, race strategy, Melbourne lows, World Championship goals, and what really happens behind the scenes in professional HYROX.

00:00 – Intro 05:11 – Building an elite aerobic engine as a teenager 07:14 – Aussie Rules culture & stepping away from football 10:30 – Discovering HYROX through Hunter McIntyre 16:04 – Debut race in Birmingham & going sub-60 18:18 – The insane 15-minute World Champs call-up 23:09 – Pressure, expectations & elite mindset 29:19 – Melbourne struggles & bouncing back mentally 35:13 – Why changing coaches changed everything 46:55 – Training alone, Australian culture & elite preparation

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