About

Melbourne Track Club was originally set up with support from Nike and Optus Telecommunications by Nic Bideau advised by accounting firm Peter Jess and Associates in 1997.

The aim was to develop a pathway to manage and guide talented Australian athletes to succeed in international competition. The original structure served only athletes able to represent Australia and from all track and field disciplines. Among those that were able to excel with the support of MTC in our early years include Cathy Freeman (world 400m champion 1997 and 1999), Tim Forsyth (high jump bronze medallist 1997 World Championships), Steve Moneghetti (marathon bronze medallist 1997 World Championships), Peter Burge (1998 Commonwealth long jump champion, Lisa Marie Vizaniari (silver medallist 1998 Commonwealth Games discus).

After the 2000 Sydney Olympics Melbourne Track Club agreed to assist athletes from countries other than Australia with Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan and Jamaica’s Sandie Richards welcomed into MTC. In 2001 Sandie  became the World Indoor 400m champion and in 2002 Sonia set a world record for 10 miles and placed 2nd in both the 5000m and 10,000m at the European Championships.

From 2002 Melbourne Track Club has only served athletes competing in events from 800m to the marathon and has limited it’s support to athletes from Australia, Ireland, Great Britain and the USA. These events are today dominated by athletes from East Africa and the primary aim of MTC today is to work with athletes from these countries that have a long and rich tradition in the middle and long distance events to remain competitive with the best in the world.

To date this structure has enabled to athletes to win middle and long distance races all over the world with the biggest success to date being by Benita Johnson to win the World Cross Country Championship in Belgium in 2004.

Services offered by MTC include coaching, arranging sponsorship, organizing racing programs and securing race entry, media management, travel planning and setting up training camps. Much of this due to the outstanding relationships developed with the major athletic footwear companies, major road race, cross country and track meeting

organizers around the world. MTC also has excellent relationships with many in the sports media working for television radio or print mediums. If required MTC is able to direct athletes requiring finance management, investment advice and taxation advise.

In addition to these service MTC runs high altitude training camps for its athletes 2 or 3 times each year at Falls Creek in Australia and annually at Mt. Laguna in California. MTC also has a competition base in Teddington in south west London close to parks suitable for training, a nearby track and within close proximity to Heathrow airport and train service to London for athletes to base themselves while competing in Europe either during the summer or in cross country races during the European winter.