Michelle Jenneke profile: the jiggle is back as Aussie hurdles champion takes on Nitro Athletics series

MICHELLE Jenneke has a new coach, a new approach and is upbeat about her future despite her Olympics disappointment in Rio.

Michelle Jenneke is Australia’s second fastest ever female hurdler.

The ‘Anna Kournikova of athletics’ jibe doesn’t sting. “You have to have a thick skin,” Michelle Jenneke says. Nor is she sick of the ‘Jiggling Jenneke’, dancing hurdler, tag. “It’s not a bad thing,” she adds.

Not much fazes Jenneke — the second fastest hurdler the country has ever produced — except an insincere apology.

She is still waiting on a heartfelt one from Athletics Australia head coach Craig Hilliard who suggested she was out of shape, distracted, “half-baked” and had “underperformed” at the Rio Olympics.

Hilliard’s harsh words came despite the head coach being aware she was hampered by a leg injury going into the Rio Games. Jenneke was run out of the 100m hurdles heats in Brazil.

Michelle Jenneke is still only 23 and says she’s very positive about her chances in the upcoming Nitro Athletics Series. Picture: Adam Head

“None of what he said had ever been said directly to my face. He hadn’t raised these issues with me directly,” Jenneke says.

“He knew I was injured ... he knew I was seeing the physios for one-two hours a day trying to get this thing right. I was really surprised by his comments. In none of the articles I read did he mention my injury. It’s interesting.”

There’s no anger in her voice when she talks about being “blindsided” by Hilliard. She’s just sounds a little disappointed. In Rio Hilliard kind of offered an apology in the hours after the stories hit the press.

“But it didn’t feel 100 per cent sincere ... he approached me in person and offered an apology but it sounded more like passing blame than an actual sincere apology,” Jenneke says.

“It’s unfortunate.”

The 23-year-old refuses to let it all cloud her “amazing” Rio experience.

“I wasn’t devastated, it’s a big deal to be at the Olympics, but it’s not my whole life,” Jenneke says. “I am not going to go home and be morose about this. I’ve got other things in my life that pick me up. This isn’t the worst thing in the world. I was just proud to compete at the Olympic Games.

“I was proud to just cross the finish line. It was a big uphill battle getting me on to the track. To me the Olympics are more than just about elite competition. It’s about bringing the world together, celebrating sport, and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Australian team.”

Michelle Jenneke enjoyed the Rio experience despite a lack of success.

While the results on the track might not have been there in Rio — this year could be her year. She ran on Saturday night for the first time this season at the Hunter Track Classic and will also feature in the Nitro Athletics series which begins this Saturday in Melbourne.

Jenneke has made big changes over the preseason. She amicably parted ways with her coach of 13 years Mick Zisti and now trains on the Gold Coast with Ashley Mahoney for a few weeks at time.

“I think it was time to try something different,” Jenneke says. “I really like the approach Ashley takes to athletics, it’s very similar to the philosophy I have ... it has been going really well. This is probably the fittest and the best shape I have ever been in going into any season.”

“I feel like I am in a really good position going into the season.”

Back off the track she is one of Australia’s most popular athletes on Instagram with 417,000 followers and her ‘jiggling’ dance has been viewed millions upon millions of times on the track. She’s featured in Sports Illustrated and was all over Coca Cola billboards up to and during the Rio Olympics.

Jenneke remains a popular figure on and off the track - and is determined to send a positive message.

Her popularity is also obvious at the athletics track where she is a hit with the junior athletes queuing up for her autograph.

Jenneke says she continues to do the ‘jiggling’ dance to remind not only herself but others, especially kids, to have fun while competing. “People can get so serious when it comes to sport but I just want to remind people to enjoy it and have fun,” Jenneke says.

“I think the ‘jiggling’ thing sends a positive message to others in and wanting to get involved in the sport.”

Jenneke says when she first started the sport she just wanted to enjoy herself — now her goal has moved to running fast. “I never thought I would be at the level I am today,” Jenneke says. “I have ticked off a lot the big goals for myself. And now all I want to do is to keep on getting faster.”

“I want to keep on improving every season.”

All going well, in time, she might just shrug off the ‘Anna Kournikova’ tag.

Not that Jenneke seems too fussed by most of the criticism that comes her way.

“It is what it is,” she says. “It’s the world we live in, we do criticise our sporting personalities quite a lot, the reality of it is that not everyone is going to have the best day when they need to. I worked really hard to represent as well as I could. Sure the criticism was harsh. But I did everything as well as I could.”

Originally published as Michelle Jenneke profile: the jiggle is back as Aussie hurdles champion takes on Nitro Athletics series