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The Jake Dearden Podcast

James Kelly - #28

Ep. 28

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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