This time Jemima has the confidence to aim for glory

Selection on any Australian team always means a lot, but selection on this Olympic team means that little bit more to Jemima Montag.  

The dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist is preparing for her second shot at Olympic glory when she hits the streets of Paris in the 20km racewalk. The 26-year-old will also embark on a new challenge - the 20km racewalk relay, a brand new event in which she will compete with her training partner Rhydian Cowley.

Montag enters these Games with an added sense of excitement and perspective.

Covid protocols in Tokyo prevented Montag from both marching in the opening ceremony and living it up in the athlete’s village - both rites of passages for any Olympian.

This time, Montag will have a 30-strong supporter group, all decked out in their "Team Jem" t-shirts, cheering her on from the sidelines.

"I can't wait to have them all there," Montag told The Jewish Independent. “It'll just be a really nice way to express gratitude to the people who have made it all possible.”

With a different lead into the Games thanks to open borders and race miles in the legs, Montag is going to Paris primed, more confident in herself and more assured of who she is.

"In the lead into Tokyo, because of Melbourne's very strict lockdowns, and also Australia being so far away from the rest of the world, I hadn't competed against my international competitors for quite some time," she said.

"I remember being in that lead pack for a lot of the race in Tokyo but when we got to the sticky end, and the winner made her big move, some people had to decide whether to go with that move. I didn’t have the self-belief or the confidence to know whether I could compete against those women.

"Ultimately, I played it a little safer and settled back at my own pace... six was a great result at the time. Now over the three years that’s passed, I think I've proven to myself that I belong up in that leading pack.”

Entering the games as one of the leading contenders, after a string of strong results in the past 12 months, including breaking the Australian record earlier this year, Montag says she has the confidence to go further this time.

"There's no question that I believe that I can be on the podium again and I would love to be.” Montag emphasised that she has the confidence to make herself vulnerable by publicly aiming for that outcome.

"I would like to be the best in the world next month. I'm happy to put it out there and risk being disappointed and embarrassed if it doesn't occur. Because that's what you've got to do. (If it doesn’t happen) you've got to say yeah, that’s sport." 

Montag has leant on some of the senior athletes in the team to help find that balance and perspective.

"I've learned from some of the most successful athletes on the Australian athletics team, how important that is to really know who you are and what your worth is beyond sporting accomplishments," she said.

"I think the power [of this self-reflection] is that it makes you set higher goals. It enables you the freedom to stand on that start line with that sense of calmness and determination, knowing that you're going to give it absolutely everything.

"At the end of the day, regardless of the results, outside of sport, you are a student and a sister and a daughter and a girlfriend and all these other fantastic things. The sport is something that we choose to do and that is fun and an additional bonus. But we're not motivated by the fear of accomplishments not occurring."

Amid the backdrop of the surge of global antisemitism and the ongoing war in the Middle East, Montag said her participation in these games alongside the other Jewish athletes on the Australian team adds an extra layer of importance.

"We will certainly be looking out for each other." she said. "The last nine months have been unimaginable. As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors ...... It's felt scary and has felt like that ‘never again’ line that our grandparents used to say was coming true.

"I think the Olympics can often deliver hope and peace and inspiration, which is exactly what our community needs at this time.

“I really hope that I can embody a lot of Australian values and a lot of Jewish community values when I'm out there competing, and that these can shine through on the other end of the television.

The race in Paris will hold extra significance for Montag, the city where her late Nanna sought refuge after liberation from Auschwitz.

Montag's Nanna sadly passed away prior to the Tokyo Olympics, but prior to her passing, the athlete was given a bracelet made from her necklace, which was divided and shared in three parts with her sisters, Piper and Andie.

It serves as her reminder and lucky charm. "The gold bracelet is on. It doesn’t come off," she said.

"One bracelet from Nana, it's a reminder of so many things. It really reminds me of the unimaginable circumstances that she persisted through and it's also a reminder that while sport is hard, it's nothing like what she went through. It's something that I do choose to do, to challenge myself and for fun. Wearing her bracelet leads me back to reality.

“She so very nearly lost her life, and her strength and endurance made it possible for my dad to be born and then for me to have a life, so if I don't make the most of [that opportunity], it feels like I'm letting her down.”