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BIOGRAPHYIt would not be until aged 14 that Jacob McCorry settled on athletics as the sport he had most passion about and was keen to commit too. By aged 18 he was already in the green and gold at the 2016 World Junior Championships, then in 2019 his senior debut at the World University Games. Over the next few years, a lot was happening. There was the pandemic, Jacob was living on the Gold Coast and trained with a couple of different coaches and was at best a 13.82 hurdler. He started preparing for 2023 in a new environment, under Alex Stewart and the results have been amazing. He has run five PBs, from 13.82 to 13.48, recorded 14 races under his old personal best and moved from number 16 to three Australian all-time. After four years away from the National team he was selected for the Budapest World Championships. + + + + + In his mid-teens year 9 Barker College student Jacob McCorry was considering his sporting future. “I was 14, and just thinking about what was possible, what I enjoyed, what I might be passionate about. I thought all the greats in sport started in my position as a little kid, so why couldn’t I achieve something great if I completely committed to it, and stayed dedicated for a long enough time.” After three months he had run 17.2 and qualified for the 2013 Nationals in Perth where he placed ninth. He was 5th in 2014, crashed out in the heats in 2015, and ran 13.79 at the 2016 Australian U20 Championships to qualify for the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz. Now in his seniors, from 2017, he gradually improved his times and places; at Nationals - fourth, then third and 14.16 in 2017 to 14.02 in 2018. In 2019 he ran three PBs under 14 seconds, now down to 13.82 and made the semi-finals at the World University Games. For the next three year, including through the pandemic, he was on the Gold Coast and with a couple of coaches, but his results were stable around the high 13 seconds mark. Then ahead of the 2023 season he moved back to Sydney and under coach Alex Stewart made dramatic progress to number three in Australian history and selection for the world championships. Memorable sporting achievement: Running 13.48 in Yokohama (May 2023) was a really special one for me. Sub 13.5 was always this elusive goal for many years as a kid, and I had finally achieved the milestone…Hero Chinese great Liu Xiang. He inspired a lot of people in Athens, broke the World record in 2006, and six years later managed to run even faster leading up to London 2012. No matter how quick the competition might get out on him, he so often managed to have complete composure, execute his incredibly smooth technical model, and take the race out in the last 1-2 hurdles… Most influential person in your career: Alex Stewart without doubt. He continually showed belief in me when it felt like there wasn’t much going around. He’s gotten me to the level I could only dream of, and now we’re pushing for even more… Advice to your young self: Why can’t you achieve something great? If you’re truly passionate, the other characteristics and values should follow suit…Occupation: athlete, Co-Founder of DAYLY, Masters student…Education: Bachelor’s degree Commerce (dual major: International Business & Economics) Macquarie University, Sydney, Grad 2021 & Master of Applied Economics (to complete in 2024)…Biggest challenge you’re faced: An extended period during COVID where everything seemed to be going wrong. Some factors included injury, poor performances and isolation out of state from family and friends, to name a few. Simply put it was really difficult. That period made me value certain things, gave me clarity around what was most important, and built up my resilience to where it is today. I wouldn’t be the athlete I am now if it weren’t for experiences such as that… Interesting facts: learning Spanish, Grandfather Norman McCorry was a decathlete in Detroit when decathlon was held on one day. @ August 2023 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au World Athletics Profile https://worldathletics.org/athletes/australia/jacob-mccorry-14635855
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