‘I’m riding every jump with her’: Stepping into the shoes of Olympic coach Luke Madill

Going into the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Luke Madill was one of the top five riders in the world with strong hopes for a podium result in BMX racing’s debut at the Olympic games.

But when he failed to progress past the quarterfinals and finished 23rd, he left Beijing bitterly disappointed.

Despite admitting he has still not watched footage of the race, Madill remains philosophical about his time in Beijing, and has chalked it up as a learning experience.

Now, some 16 years after making his Olympic debut, Madill again returns to the Olympic arena, this time as coach to one of Australia’s stronger medal hopes, Saya Sakakibara.

AusCycling caught up with Madill before he headed off to Paris this week to chat about his own Olympic experience, and how that has shaped his approach to coaching.

What did it mean to you to represent Australia as an Olympian?

It was huge. Obviously being the first as a BMX rider was something massive for me. I was later in my career; I was 28 when I was going. Probably at that time I wouldn’t have been thinking about an Olympics without that. I did break my back only two years before it, so again I think if the Olympics wasn’t there, I don’t know if I would still be in the sport in that capacity. It changed a lot of what people thought about the sport, it just put it on the mainstream.

Looking back on your Olympic experience, what do you remember most?

100 per cent the crowd. You would turn up on the practice days and you’ve only got, back then it was only 32 men out there, no crowd because no-one is allowed in yet. It’s kind of a ghost town. You go in to try and hype yourself up and there is no-one around, (so) that was a highlight that stands out

And the other one was probably (something) I failed at. We didn’t have any livestreaming back then, we weren’t used to TV cameras, and I remember getting up for my first race and setting up like normal and them saying you’ve got to wait for TV and straight away it’s like, ‘wait for what?’ It’s a whole different ball game. So psychologically it was a big learning curve.

Did you prepare differently for the Olympics compared to other races?

I wouldn’t say I prepared differently, I would just say I didn’t leave any stone unturned. Every gym session I was going to go to was going to be 100 per cent, every training session I did, my sleep, my nutrition. I pretty much went there physically the best I could ever prepare for anything. I definitely turned up ready that way.

How important is mental preparation as well as the physical side in preparing for the Olympics?

Coming into it, definitely 50/50, and as the racing goes on I think it becomes 70/30: 70 per cent mental, and 30 per cent physical. And that’s one thing I failed in; I just was not ready for what was coming. Everything from the TV coverage, which made me think of all the people at home watching – I had a supercross track built in my backyard, so I had constant media there all the time and I kind of was the pin-up boy for BMX. Everyone was training at my house leading into it, there was a lot of pressure there. It was a big learning curve. (But) it was the wrong event to have a learning curve from.

Looking back, 16 years on, do you have any regrets of your Olympic performance?

100 per cent. To this day, I’ve never watched that event. It broke me. I remember going back after the event, I just went and hid. I went to my girlfriend’s hotel and broke down. It was mentally tough. It’s definitely something that will stay with me forever. I have learned to appreciate that not a lot of people get that opportunity, and I do understand that, but as an athlete that you haven’t put in your best performance is hard one to swallow.

Is there one thing you learned from that experience that has stuck with you and you now apply or share with athletes as a coach?

I know working with Saya at the moment, it’s just to try and leave the competition – no matter if it’s first or last – just putting everything you possibly can into it. Because when you look back, you look back at the races you did really well at but you also look back at the ones where you missed the opportunities, and that’s the one thing I say to the riders – put 100 per cent effort in, give it everything you’ve got and then there’s no doubts. Because what hurts the most is when you go home and you have that ‘what if?’ question; what if I tried a bit harder, what if I did this a bit better.

What is your job in working with Saya to prepare her for racing? How much do you have to be switched on to seeing when Saya needs to be picked up or pull her back?

In the practice sessions, making sure she is comfortable with the track, making sure she can give it her 100 per cent around it. And then after each race it’s just analysing her laps. Not so much comparing her to other people, but more for herself. I know her well enough now to see whether she’s got more in her or if she’s making some slight mistakes around the track. But then we also look at the times. Obviously times are important for gate pick, so if I know she needs to step it up somewhere I can get her to step it up as much as possible and try to get her to push a bit harder.

Is it more or less stressful and nerve-wracking as a coach, compared to when you were an athlete?

It’s different. It’s definitely stressful, more because it’s out of your control. You know their potential and you know what they can do, but you have no idea if that execution is going to come out or not. You definitely ride the race. That’s what I’ve noticed, I’m riding every jump with her. You almost try to just be her robot for her and control her around the track! [laughs]

What would you say is the key to unlocking an athlete’s full potential?

All riders are different, but getting them to believe in themselves and their commitment 100 per cent is probably the main one, and I always come back to ‘your best is the best’. When you're up on that start gate, just focussing 100 per cent on your best performance and generally a lot of the riders I work with, their performance does get a result. Especially with Saya it’s got to be her; we have to focus on her and no one else. We can’t discuss other riders – her lap is the fastest lap, and that’s what we focus on.

How rewarding is it when one of your riders get the result they want?

It’s very similar to being an athlete, you get that same sort of feeling when they cross the line. It is slightly different because you are sharing it with someone, but you’re just so happy for them. I know how much work you put in and how much relief you get when you cross the line. I’m also happy knowing my feedback and my program helped them achieve that, but at the end of the day they are the ones that have done the work.

Finally, what would you prefer to be - coach or rider?

At the age I’m at and where I’m at, 100 per cent the coach. If I could ever do one thing again it would be to go the Olympics again. It’s one race I know that I was quick enough. I know that wasn’t even close to where I could have been. In saying that, I get to see so much success through the riders that I coach, and fingers crossed we can go over there and Saya puts in her best effort. It would be amazing if she could come home with a medal and that would probably give me some sort of, I guess, satisfaction for what I missed out on as well.

BMX Racing is competed over August 1-2 at the Saint-Quentin-Enyvelines BMX Stadium in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France.

*Sections of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.