Dane Bird-Smith
Dane Bird-Smith An Olympic 20km Racewalker representing Australia for the last 12 years, 4 x World Championship teams, 4 x World Cup teams, a gold medal and Games record at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and on debut a Bronze medal at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games.
Bird-Smith has been around the world and taken on every competitor and challenge, but his greatest challenge was from within himself.
After years of punishing training, singularly focused on competing at the highest level he found himself achieving his dreams but shadowed by a dark cloud. Reaching out for professional help was a decision that shook his Olympic values of strength, resilience and chasing perfection, but it was a move that he believes saved his life.
With renewed support and changes in perspective he not only continued to compete against the best in the world but put a spiral of depression behind him. Now he wants to share his journey and be a catalyst for conversations in mental health and men’s health.
