An Interview with Olympian and QUT Student Jack McLoughlin

An Interview with Olympian and QUT Student Jack McLouhglin

WRITTEN BY CHRISTINA SIMONOSKI

After watching the (belated) 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Summer Games in Tokyo earlier this year, it was hard to miss the sheer number of Australian (and QUT) Athletes making an impression on the world's greatest stage.

One such swimmer and Olympian is Jack McLoughlin, who won a Silver Medal in the Men’s 400 Metre Freestyle in Tokyo. He is one of the many QUT elite athletes who not only highlighted our uni's elite athlete program, but the outstanding achievements young Aussie athletes are making while also managing to study! I chatted with Jack about his training, post-Olympics reflections, and how he manages a healthy work, life and study balance in one of the most competitive sports in Australia - let alone the world.

Here are some of the key lessons I learned from talking to Jack about living a competitive lifestyle while juggling university and career aspirations.

Find Your Balance

After talking to Jack, the first thing I thought was, "damn, this is a person who has truly mastered the art of time management." He refers to this skill as a triangle, balancing training, study and social life equally.

It's not something I personally considered when it came to time management and performing at my best academically; picturing it as learning the art of balance has been quite eye-opening and a fresh new perspective on approaching my study, career goals, and social life.

Pick Your Battles

Another lesson I learned from Jack was that even elite athletes pick their battles. In Jack's case, it more specifically referred to prioritising medalling in the 400m free rather than putting all his eggs in one basket with 1500m freestyle races.

It's not a matter of whether or not he could do well in 1500m – he knows he probably could, but was selective and strategic about balancing and putting the right amount of time, effort, and training into a race where he knew for sure he could get a medal. I relate to this a lot but in a more academic than competitive sense. I'm one of those people who often doesn't know when to say no to projects and tries to put 100% into every assessment. If I picked my battles better, I'd be a lot prouder of my results in the future.

Plan Your Rest

Something that stood out a lot to me was how Jack talked about rest being an integral part of his training as an athlete and a factor when coming back from the Olympics. It was just jumping straight back into study or training again.

We probably can't expect the uni to start granting us extensions for rest days, but we can schedule time for it ourselves. I know, easier said than done.

I don't know about you, but I think it's safe to assume the average, non-Olympic, student probably spends a lot of sleepless nights studying, working, and crashing after exams or assessments. For Jack, this just isn't the case; he has a regimen for every facet of his life and planning essential rest is a big part of that routine.

Chatting to Jack was a fantastic experience; these are just a few of the anecdotes that stood out to me. Jack is not only an outstanding athlete but also a humble and inspiring person when it comes to life and study.

The Glass team and I extend a massive congratulations to Jack and all our QUT Athletes, who we were lucky enough to have represented Australia and our University on a global stage.

If you’d like to find out more specific reflections and insights from Jack, check out the full interview transcript at qutglass.com.

This article was originally published online at qutglass.com on the 18th of October 2021