The Quiet Achiever | Jye Perrott

One of the quiet achievers of the 800m domestic scene, 23-year-old Jye Perrott (UTS Norths, Ben Liddy) has acheived some incredible times & results in only 7 months of consistent training, including an Open National Bronze medal after just two months of running post-injury. Currently in the middle of a career-defining European season, we caught up with Jye on all things running, future, challenges and successes.

Thanks for your time Jye – where in the world are you right now & what are you up to?

No worries at all! I am currently in a small French town named Yutz, just 30 minutes south of Luxembourg. Whilst my racing for the European season is finished, I am on rabbit duties for the boys on Sunday in Luxembourg. Jye Edwards, Rorey Hunter and Adam Fogg are racing the 1500m, and I am going to try and trot around for 1100m of it and set them up for a fast and evenly paced race!

Quickly jumping back to Nationals 2022 – a phenomenal bronze for you after very little racing (season opener was NSW Opens and then straight into the Track Classic series) – explain what happened before that put you off the radar for so long, and working back to get fit. How much did that Open National bronze mean – particularly after such a bright junior career and glimpses of talent-plus over the past few years - and was that the result that set you up for your recent successes?

I am often very well acquainted with the word injury or illness, and things were unfortunately no different last year. I suffered a hamstring intramuscular rupture after nationals in 2021, and then having finished the lengthy recovery, fell victim to a femur stress reaction in November last year, an injury that didn’t make much sense and resulted in a lot of blood tests and scans to search deeper for a cause. I worked very hard on the bike and in the pool with cross training and returned to running early January. It was a very ugly return. I feel as though mental challenges are often forgotten when referring to injuries and setbacks - accepting lack of fitness, working through it, keeping motivated, etc.

My desire for athletics struggled the most during January, and after a poor attempt at an 800m race off very little training I decided I needed to change things up. I packed my bags and headed to Perisher for two weeks, welcomed into a small training camp by Dick Telford. There, my coach Ben Liddy devised a 2-week training block for me, almost like a fitness camp, and I lived and breathed athletics and learned from the best in Rorey Hunter and Jye Edwards. It gave a massive breath of life back into my motivation and love for the sport, and I came off the mountain in better shape both physically and mentally.

From this point on, I was able to return to some form in the Sydney and Melbourne Track Classics. I really surprised myself in Melbourne, and I think it goes to show once again how important the mental aspect of our sport is. That performance allowed me to accelerate into Nationals with confidence, and snagging a Bronze Medal and still not feeling fully satisfied was the perfect motivation booster to continue my season. Being able to move on from that Championship and look towards the unknown was an awesome feeling. My longest season ever had been around 16 weeks in 2019, and so I was full to the brim with excitement for what was going to be a journey of training and racing that I have never been able to explore.

You’ve had a spectacular debut European season – with pre-meet Diamond League races, wins in career-best times, and 7 of your top-8 times in your career over the last couple of months.

· What’s allowed you to go from that 1:48 to 1:46 time consistently, and that spectacular leap to your PB of 1:45.61 in Germany? Is it the athletes around you? The gravity of racing outside your country? Professional athlete life being a blessing to your performance?

I think the number one thing that has allowed me to make this leap in my athletics has been consistency. I like to think that I have known deep down I am capable of being up with the best, but just haven’t had the opportunity to do it. And staying healthy and consistent for what is almost 7 months now has culminated in a European Season that I couldn’t be happier with. There is an absolute mountain of things that allow for consistency, starting from the trust I have in my coach Ben Liddy and the support and guidance he has given me this year. Ben has always believed in me and reassured me that we just need to stay healthy, and the results will come, and it is a great feeling to be able to make that happen and for Lidds to be rewarded with the results I have been able to achieve. There is then of course a large list of people that are integral to my training away from the track, with gym, physio, pilates, etc, and couple that with diet and sleep and you get a healthy body that can withstand the physical challenges of this sport and not break down. I am incredibly grateful for this support network!

Away from consistency, the experience of being in Europe has also been an incredible one and has definitely enhanced my performances. The guidance of my manager James Templeton has to be at the top of this. Taking me under his wing and backing me to improve in Europe, JT has provided me with an awesome living and training experience in our base in Tubingen, Germany, and has worked incredibly hard for me in order to prepare an incredible European racing season that has allowed me to feature in some awesome races and set myself up for next season with the 1:45.6 and 1:46.0 times and multiple top 3 placings. Racing in a different country every week is surreal, and toeing the line against World-Class athletes is in that same category. The pro-athlete life has definitely been huge in allowing me to achieve what I have!

· What has the average week looked like for you – training on the track, travelling & social media off it?

When not racing, the average week is quite basic and training hasn’t differed much from if I were in Australia, apart from there being no grass track. The big difference in the week is that everything you do is to better yourself for your running. Sleep, diet, lifestyle. All things lead to making sure you’re ready and recovered for sessions and races. Most days start at the coffee shop, lead into a training session or easy run, then either into a nap or even gym some days, and by the time most of this is done and you’ve eaten, its wind-down time. Indeed, time can go quickly when you are living like a pro athlete, but it can also get very boring, and I know for a fact my screen time has rocketed up which isn’t ideal. I’ll be bringing a kindle next time around. As for training, not having my training buddies around is probably the biggest difference, but I have been lucky to jump in with sessions here and there with Joe & Pete and also with Rorey. It’s awesome to train without distractions and to set your days up around your training… a lifestyle I could definitely get used to!

· How has it been being away from home so much? Is it something you’ve cherished or has there been homesickness at times?

Being away from home has been tough, and I have really missed my family, friends and my partner while I have been away. I’ve been thankful to have good friends around me here which has made things easier, but you can definitely still feel very alone at times so far from home. As hard as it can get, I’ve been very fortunate to be able to look at my situation and to offset that homesickness with the reality of where I am and what I am doing. In Europe, chasing down the dream of a little ginger kid at Girraween Athletics club 15 years ago. Doesn’t get much better than that.

· Is this going to be the first of many Euro trips post-Nationals? If so, why? If not, why not? What are the pro’s and con’s of chasing results and times overseas that you’ve found?

Yes, I will definitely look to travel after the domestic season and continue racing going forward. With the difference in seasons between the south and north, continuing to race in Europe works in favour of major championships and preparations. Furthermore, the calibre of racing here has been unbelievable. In my first race of the Euro season, I was ranked 21^st with a 1:47.3 seed time. I was lucky to slip into the B race! I can’t really think of many cons at all, as I’ve had such an amazing experience here. With this being said, I am excited for 800m running in Australia also. We are at an awesome time for our event, and the community that is growing between athletes and coaches is very positive. By lifting each other up, we do nothing but help ourselves in the process!

The names Peter Bol & Catriona Bisset keep dominating not just athletics headlines, but now mainstream sport headlines. What has two very different yet very influential individuals done for 2-lap racing in Australia, and the sport of athletics in your opinion, both on and off the track? Can we finally say that middle distance running (including Jess Hull, Ollie Hoare & co. in the 1500m) really is in the eyes of the sports fan in the country?

Peter and Cat have been incredible not only for 800m running, but for the sport as a whole. To see two athletes absolutely killing it on the world stage is nothing but inspiring, and the attention it brings to the sport is very deserved. Being able to live and train around Peter in Tubingen has been an amazing experience, and he is the definition of a professional. I have learned an incredible amount from him and the way he approaches his running, and his conduct off the track compliments the quality of a person he is. Cat’s rise to greatness is a perfect example of hard work and consistency, and there is a lot to learn from her self-belief and motivation. I feel very lucky to be racing in the same era as the two ‘GOATs’ of our event in Australia!

I think middle distance running is definitely creeping into the eyeline of sports fans in Australia, slowly! Then again, Roosters vs Manly this week is going to be a cracker.

You’re now coaching some juniors as part of your squad, Central Performance Track. Can you tell us a bit about how that came to be, and how you’re fitting your coaching around your training (and any study/part-time/full-time work you’re currently doing)?

Having coached at The King’s School for 4 years, and Central Performance Track expanding and interest growing, Lidds and I decided to explore the possibility of starting up a junior squad, and in November of last year this became a reality! We have a group of around 15 superstars at this stage, and our focus of the group is to develop junior athletes and prepare them for the senior chapter of the sport. As a junior, I absolutely loved training and racing, and I have learned so much from the way John Atterton coached me, all of which I have applied into my own coaching and philosophies. Our focus for our athletes is to keep them healthy and enjoying the sport, and to guide them towards a future in competitive senior athletics. The incredible results the kids produce is a massive bonus! I feel very lucky to coach such a great group of kids.

When I am in Australia, coaching fits perfectly into my schedule, taking place right before my own training, 1 hour earlier. When I am away, we have an amazing team of coaches that step in with the stopwatch and run the sessions, all members of the senior squad themselves. It’s great for the kids to have senior athletes present at their training sessions and I know they feel very inspired, so I am very thankful for the awesome team of coaches back in Sydney. Programming and communication with parents remain the same whilst I am in Europe, and it is honestly a big motivation for me here to see the Juniors loving their athletics and performing so well back home.

Your partner, Brittany O’Brien, is a professional diver competing for Australian at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. How is it dating someone at the very top of their sport, and will be at the Comm Games supporting her/watching your fellow Aussies at the Athletics?

It’s great! Seeing the work she puts in and the commitment she has is very inspiring. Up at 6am most mornings, two sessions a day pretty much every day during the week, and all sorts of domestic and international competitions all year round. Her schedule definitely makes my hard days feel a lot easier and I complain a lot less than I used to. I’m in the process of trying to get her to run an 800m, but I’m not making much ground there. I am heading to Birmingham right after this pacing job in Luxembourg, and I am so excited to watch her! She has worked so hard for this and I feel very lucky to be able to be there to watch her over the course of the Games. I’ll definitely catch some of the action on the track too!

Last Question – coming home to NSW fit and firing for a full track season. Almost unbelievably, there’s a World Champs in 12 months – are we going to see you crack 1:45, are we going to see you in a green & gold jersey, and at 23 years old, what does success in athletics look like for Jye Perrott?

Budapest is massive focus for me in 2023, and of course Paris the next year. My dream has always been to be an Olympian, and I am excited to work hard and give everything I can to try and make that happen. As corny as it sounds, success in athletics for me will always be enjoyment of the sport and the experiences, so hopefully I can work my way down the Aussie All-time 800m list and into some green and gold bonuses in the process!

Written by James Constantine, Athletics NSW