In the past year, Australian high jumper Eleanor Patterson has moved to Turin to live and train with her Italian boyfriend. She has changed her coach, and she has completely changed how she jumps.
For an athlete who has won a medal at her past five major events, that’s a lot of change. Five championships, five medals: silver, gold, silver, bronze, silver. That’s two world indoor silvers, a world championships gold and a silver and an Olympic bronze.
Eleanor Patterson won bronze at the Paris Olympics Credit: Getty Images
“It’s getting a bit of a pattern there,” Patterson said.
The reason she made the changes is that, of those five podium finishes, only one was a gold – in Eugene at the world championships. Complacency is the enemy of success, and she was restless to improve.
The most recent of those five medals was the silver Patterson won at World Indoors in China last week, which came after her move to Italy and change of coach and run-up.
On all five occasions, she has stood alongside Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh on the podium, and at three of her compatriot Nicola Olyslagers has been at her shoulder. In Nanjing last week, Olyslagers beat Patterson to gold on countback after they both cleared 1.97m.
Such are the margins between these women that missing a single jump at 1.92m cost her a gold medal.
“When it comes to high jumping right now, it’s a wonderful era. We’re competing against the world record holder and Olympic champion,” Patterson said.
Teammates Nicola Olyslagers (left) and Eleanor Patterson.Credit: Hollie Adams
“Between the three of us, we seem to share the medals and have taken away every colour, I think. Along my journey with the last five major championships, I’ve come away with a medal at each.
“It’d be incredible to win in Tokyo this year (at the world championships), but obviously, you’re up against some incredible athletes, and all the respect due to them.”
Patterson hasn’t competed in Melbourne since she went on that five championships medal-winning streak. The last time she competed in her home capital she was a shy athlete who had been working part-time in a bakery in Leongatha, but she announced herself to the world in her sport.
Now she lives in Turin with her boyfriend Marco Fassinotti, also a high jumper. She has changed her coach and, perhaps most radically of all, has changed how she jumps.
“I’ve completely changed my run-up. Since last year, I’ve changed coaches as well. I’ve moved across to the other side of the world, so I’ve changed a lot. At the end of the season, I decided to change coaches, and I’ve moved to live primarily in Italy,” she said.
“I had lived there for a while before. My partner is Italian, and he’s a high jumper … we’ve been together for quite a while, and I was just ready for a change-up, so I decided to move over that side of the world.
Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson claimed silver and bronze in the high jump at the Paris Olympics..Credit: AP
“I’m training with him and we’re working under (Alex) ‘Fuz’ Caan, who’s an English coach, who’s actually working out of Saudi Arabia of all places right now. Funnily enough, I haven’t actually met Fuzz (in person). He’s my coach, and has been for the last, what, five months. So he writes my program, and he is able to FaceTime for technical sessions.
“I completely changed my run-up. I used to have a really long roll-in, eight-stride jump, and now I have a standing 10-stride, which doesn’t mean much to most people.”
Essentially, she was walking into the start of her run-up. Now she stands like a pole vaulter and kicks into a 10-step run to the bar.
“It seems to be working. The proof’s in the pudding. Thus far I’ve competed three times for 194cm, 199cm (and) 197cm.
Eleanor Patterson, of Australia, competes in the women’s high jump final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)Credit: nnadamien.mccartney
“I was ready for a change.”
Patterson has reached the point in her career where 1.97m is becoming the minimum for her at major comps.
“I think this year I can definitely create 1.97 as a minimum. That’s the intention anyway. And I’m in condition to do that.
“Two metres is a barrier for a reason. It’s a benchmark for a reason. That’s definitely the aim for this season to jump over two meters and get comfortable over that height. I feel like I’m ready to, and I feel like I’m in the condition to be able to jump two metres.”
Patterson will compete in the high jump at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on Saturday night. Australian world sprint sensation Gout Gout in the 200m headlines the meet, which is almost sold out with about 8000 tickets snapped up.
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