World pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis with his parents and coaches Helena and Greg Duplantis in Glasgow (© Getty Images)
“You can tell by the fire in his eyes that he is going to break the world record.” - Helena Duplantis
A session dedicated to elite female coaches and athletes formed part of the programme for the recent Coaches’ Club, held during the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.
Some of the world’s leading athletes and coaches – including Helena Duplantis and Laurent Meuwly – participated at the event, organised by World Athletics in cooperation with the Global Athletics Coaching Academy (GACA).
The panel of experts was opened by sports scientist Emma Ross and her brilliant speech about how to make effective changes that are required in order to adapt coaching approaches to the needs of women.
“The excuse ‘we have always done it this way’ is no longer acceptable,” she concluded.
World Athletics is working hard to raise the game in coaching female athletes and highlighting the world of elite female coaches, as World Athletics President Sebastian Coe explained.
“We need more women in the coaching environment as soon as possible,” were his final words in an interview conducted by GACA Chair Frank Dick.
Emma Ross speaks during the Coaches' Club in Glasgow (© Sena Bekric)
Even the most famous female coaches are “kind of new”, admitted Duplantis, strength and conditioning coach for world pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis.
“The Swedish Olympic Committee is trying to double the number of us, thanks to this ‘Project Q’ which is improving the knowledge and the expertise,” she added, speaking of a project that aims to foster more female leaders and coaches.
“Towards athletes, women are different,” said Meuwly, coach to world 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol. “That would raise the bar because they can bring more diversity and new competencies, not only being very good technically and tactically, but also communicating differently and more effectively.”
There are already many different types of coaching in athletics. Helena, for example, explained that she differs from her husband Greg – who she works alongside in coaching their son, Mondo – in the sense that: “I see so much, I know his body language and facial expression. If he is rushing and not, as usual, visualising, it means his mind is not right there on the jumping 100%.
“You can tell by the fire in his eyes that he is going to break the world record.”
Indeed, ‘Mondo’ in Italian means ‘world’. “The iconic nickname comes from my husband’s best friend, whose ancestors were from Sicily,” added Helena. “So, he just started to name Armand ‘Mondo Man’ when he was a kid, and now this sounds perfect when he breaks records.”
Speaking of world records, Bol was simply astonishing at the Glasgow Arena, running 49.17 in the 400m final.
“She is always very well prepared and wants to discuss the race in detail,” explained her coach Meuwly just a couple of hours before that performance. “Before the race, she always feels nervous, with her legs empty, and shaky. I just listen to her, not saying anything, because it is her way to express that it is an important moment.”
Based on his experience, Meuwly added: “The difference between good coaches and very good coaches lies in how they communicate and prepare their athletes mentally, dealing with success and moments less successful.”
That is in line with what Coe highlighted in his speech. “Great athletes come from great coaches and there are no such elite athletes without first-level coaches, both male and female,” he said.
This is exactly why initiatives such as the Coaches’ Club are crucial in the development of athletics, which now needs to be focused on expanding the elite female community.
Sessions from the Coaches’ Club in Glasgow, including the session on female coaching on Saturday 2 March, will be available to watch back via the World Athletics eLearning platform.
Federica Frola of the Media Development Programme for World Athletics
