Further Information 

Competition Stats

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:
3000m walk: 1990 (U20) - 1st
5000m walk: 1991 (U20) - 1st, 1992 (U20) - 1st, 1993 - 3rd (2nd Australian), (U20) - 1st, 1994 (U20) - 1st, 1997 - 1st, 1998 - 2nd
10km walk: 1991 - 1st, 1992 - 1st, 1994 - 3rd, 1996 - 3rd, 1997 - 1st, 1998 - 1st, 1998 (CGT) - 2nd, 199 - 2nd
20km walk: 2000 - 3rd (1st Australian), 2001 - DQ, 2002 - 1st, 2003 - 1st, 2004 - 1st, 2005 - 1st, 2006 - 1st

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Commonwealth Games: 1994 - 10km walk 8th (47.14.0), 1998 - 10km 1st (43.47.0), 2002 - 20km walk 1st (1:36.24), 2006 - 20km walk 1st (1:32.46)
Olympic Games: 1996 - 10m walk 26th (45.56.0), 2000 - 20km walk DQ, 2004 - 20km walk 3rd (1:29.25), 2008 – 20km walk 20th (1:31.17)
World championships: 1997 - 10,000m walk 12th heat (46.12.76), 1999 - 20km walk 7th (1:32.13), 2001 - 20km walk DQ, 2003 - 20km walk 11th (1:30:51), 2005 - 20km walk 20th (1:33.44), 2007 - 20km walk DQ
World junior championships: 1990 - 5000m walk 13th (23.42.46), 1992 - 5000m walk 2nd (21.58.64)
World University Games: 1997 - 10km walk 10th (49.06.0)
World Walking Cup: 1993 - 10km walk 43rd (50.15.0), 1997 - 10km walk 40th (45.19.0), 1999 - 20km walk - 18th (1:31.58), 2002 - 20km walk 24th (1:35.35), 2004 - 20km walk 4th (1:27.44), 2006 - 20km walk 7th (1:29.05), 2008 - 20km walk 7th (1:29.27)

ANNUAL PROGRESSION:
20km road walk:
1998 1:37.53
1999 1:31.58
2000 1:28.56
2001 1:31.20
2002 1:34.18
2003 1:30.51
2004 1:27.44
2005 1:29.33
2006 1:29.05
2007 1:30.53
2008 1:29.27

EVENTS / PERSONAL BESTS:
3000m walk: 12.27.74 - Melbourne, 25/02/93
5000m walk: 21.32.26 - Melbourne, 1/03/97
10km walk: 42.15.0 - Eisenhuttenstadt (GER), 8/05/99
20km walk: 1:27.44 - Naumberg (GER), 2/05/04 (national record) 

RECORD(S):
Oceania/Commonwealth/National record - 20km walk: 1:27.44 - Naumberg (GER), 2/05/04
Oceania/Commonwealth/National record - 20km walk: 1:28.56 - Copenhagen (DEN), 6/05/00
National U20 record - 3000m track walk: 12.27.74 - Melbourne, 25/02/93
U18 National Best on Record - 8km walk: 39.15 - Melbourne, 24/05/92
U18 National Best on Record - 10km walk: 47.10 - Melbourne, 25/08/91

Interesting Facts

As a member of the South Maroubra SLC, Jane competed in the 1994-95 Devondale Ironwoman Series and the Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships from 1991 to 1995. Between 1988 and 1992 Jane contested butterfly and medley events at the Australian Age Swimming Championships. She married professional road cyclist Matt White in Sydney in November 2000, one of only two married couples on the team for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Jane was athletics team captain at the 2004 Olympics and carried the flag for her country in the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Showing passion and influence for her sport of race walking, she took a seat on the IAAF Race Walking Committee at its congress in Osaka in August 2007, just prior to the world championships.

Jane made a splash early in her career as the cover girl of the 1994 Golden Girls of Athletics calendar.

Sporting Career

After deciding to concentrate on athletics over her other sporting talents, Jane was a world junior silver medallist in 1992 but had her first real taste of international competition at the 1993 World Walking Cup and the 1994 Commonwealth Games, where she finished eighth.

After gaining valuable experience at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Jane was ready to come of age two years later in Kuala Lumpur where she won the first of her three Commonwealth Games gold medals.

After a seventh place at the 1999 world championships in Seville and breaking Kerry Saxby-Junna's long-standing 20km best in Europe in May 2000, Jane gave every indication that she was ready to contend at world level. When she led the field at the 2000 Olympics, less than 300 metres from the finish line at the Sydney main stadium, her greatest achievement looked only moments away.

But the judges decided that was not to be and she was informed of her disqualification as a capacity crowd watched on the stadium video screen. She unfortunately met a similar fate at the 2001 world championships in Edmonton but rebounded well to defend her Commonwealth title in Manchester in 2002.

An excellent 11th place finish at the 2003 world championships in Paris and an even better fourth at the 2004 World Walking Cup in a new national record of 1:27.44 indicated that her technique worries were behind her. Then, in one of the happiest moments in Athens later that year, Jane finally had her Olympic day in the sun, finishing strongly to take the bronze. It was Australia’s first women's Olympic walks medal and achieved with an excellent time of 1:29.25 in the hot conditions.

During the following domestic season Jane won her fifth national 20km title and was selected for the 2005 worlds in Helsinki, where she placed 20th.

Year 2006 opened with national 20km title No. 6, followed six weeks later by Commonwealth title No. 3, leading a clean sweep of the medals for Australia. A strong seventh came in the World Cup Walk in La Coruna (ESP) later in the year.

Jane opted to miss the 2007 nationals to concentrate on the first leg of the World Walking Challenge in Mexico, where she finished a good third. She prepared for Osaka from her European base, taking part in several other Challenge races and finished seventh in the women’s final standings.

Her husband and coach Matt White was injured in a cycling accident on the eve of Osaka, however Jane still managed to compete at her sixth world championships, equalling the most appearances by an Australian at the meet. Unfortunately, she was disqualified soon after the 11km mark.

Towards the end of 2007 and in early 2008, Jane’s progress was curtailed by an injury which forced her out of the selection trials. She returned to competition with vengeance, posting a 1:32.50 in Portugal in April and walking strongly at the World Race Walking Cup in Russia, to finish seventh in 1:29.27.

Entering the games in Beijing as only the sixth Australian to attend four Olympics, Jane faced tough conditions. In a challenging race, the team captain went out hard, struggling to maintain the pace and eventually finishing 20th in 1:31.17.

Family connections
Jane’s husband and now coach, Matt, is an international cyclist who has ridden in many of the world’s great road tours and represented Australia at both the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.  He is currently the director sportif of the Garmin Chipotle pro team who were impressive at the 2008 Tour de France.

Her sister Natalie has represented Australia at the world junior championships, World Walking Cups, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.