Local Olympic connections

LOCAL residents, Peter and Greta Vallance, along with Julie Kirby, are long-time enthusiasts of race walking events at the Olympic Games.

Julie Kirby’s nephew, Jared Tallent OAM, is an Australian race walker and Olympic gold medalist.

Jared clinched the gold for the 50km walk in London in 2012 and holds the current Olympic record in the 50km walk.

He is a four time Olympic medalist and a three time World Championship medalist.

Brent Vallance, son of Peter and Greta, coached Jared at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from 2004 to 2012.

Brent was honoured as Athletics Australian Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2010 for his outstanding contribution to the success of Australian walkers globally.

In the 2024 Olympics, both Brent and Jared serve as AOC Team Officials as coaches, collectively guiding five out of the six selected walkers.

The Australian walk team includes Rebecca Henderson (VIC, Simon Baker), Jemima Montag (VIC, Brent Vallance), Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent) in the Women’s 20km Racewalk, and Rhydian Cowley (VIC, Brent Vallance), Kyle Swan (VIC, Jared Tallent), Declan Tingay (WA, Brent Vallance) in the Men’s 20km Racewalk.

In 2024, a new walking event called the mixed-gender marathon walk relay will take place, where two teams have qualified.

Each team comprises one male and one female athlete.

Additional reserves named Allanah Pitcher and Will Thompson are also part of the Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay.

The final relay teams will be named after the individual 20km events. The walk will be held at…

by Greta Vallance

Image: Brent Vallance and Jared Tallent.