READ MORE:<\/strong> Off-air chat reveals true Wallabies feelings on try\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Origin feud erupts between Fittler, ex-Blues teammate\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Making her comeback even more intriguing is a move up in distance; while she contested the 1500 metres at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Games, she's now chasing a spot in the 5000 metres for Paris 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the lead-up to this year's Sydney Harbour five-kilometre event<\/a>, set to be held next Sunday morning, she reflected on the dark times in an interview with Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n "It was a bit of a slow climb out of that low point," Buckman said.<\/p>\n "It was like my whole world turned upside down very quickly\ufeff."<\/p>\n The dark times she found herself in were set off by Achilles tendinopathy during the 2018-19 summer.<\/p>\n Her sponsors, including Nike and Athletics Australia, left her deserted.<\/p>\n She soon found herself working business hours in an office \u2014 normal for millions of people, but a difficult adjustment for a former professional runner used to travelling the world, and spending hours a day enjoying fresh air and sunshine.<\/p>\n She left that Sydney job and picked up another in the same city, but was made redundant when the COVID-19 pandemic hit only several months later.\ufeff<\/p>\n Late in 2020, she fell and broke a wrist. Two surgeries followed.<\/p>\n Her head was a mess and, because of Achilles tendinopathy and her broken wrist,\ufeff the star runner couldn't lean on the most important outlet in her life.<\/p>\n For about 18 months, her running shoes did little more than gather dust.<\/p>\n As she eased back into running after a lengthy time out, a string of other minor injuries crept up.\ufeff<\/p>\n She sought help through the Australian Institute of Sport\ufeff mental health network and, years later, is glad she did.<\/p>\n "I found it a really tough time and wouldn't want to revisit it," Buckman said.<\/p>\n "I'm not even sure if I could have managed better given what I was facing at the time with this complete lifestyle change and my injuries.<\/p>\n "It took a while to get out of that tough place.<\/p>\n "I was pretty miserable in 2019 because I had an office with no windows\ufeff and I'd been used to travelling the world and being out in the sunshine a lot and running, so it just took a while to get back to a happier place.<\/p>\n "I was living in a beautiful part of the world, but I had to get used to long hours in an office plus a long commute and I wasn't even able to run.<\/p>\n "So it was just a very drastic change … It was a shock to the system.<\/p>\n "I found my feet again after moving to Canberra in 2020.<\/p>\n "It didn't change overnight; I just rebuilt myself over time, it's not like there was a magic trick."<\/p>\n In April 2022, Buckman laced up her shoes for her first race in about three-and-a-half years, taking on the likes of Jessica Hull and Abbey Caldwell in Run The Tan in Melbourne.\ufeff<\/p>\n Coach Gerard Ryan played a crucial role as\ufeff she gradually rediscovered her love of running, but in May she joined the group of another Canberra-based coach in Des Proctor.<\/p>\n That move teamed her up with a couple of Australian champions \u2014 reigning 10,000-metre women's champion Leanne Pompeani, as well as reigning men's 800-metre gold medallist Riley McGown.\ufeff<\/p>\n Buckman owns three national crowns, having won the women's 1500-metre titles in 2011, 2013 and 2014.<\/p>\n But unfulfilled career expectations continue to grate away her.\ufeff<\/p>\n In Moscow in 2013, she became the first Australian woman in history to reach a world\ufeff championships 1500-metre final. Yet finals berths eluded her at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2016 Olympics and the 2017 world championships.<\/p>\n She faces stiff competition in her pursuit of 5000-metre selection for Paris 2024.<\/p>\n In Australian circles, Hull is unrivalled in whichever distance she decides to tackle, while Lauren Ryan, Rose Davies\ufeff, Izzi Batt-Doyle and Pompeani are among the other genuine contenders for the 5000 metres.<\/p>\n Buckman is embracing the challenge.<\/p>\n "\ufeffI guess what's kept me in the sport is having high-reaching goals, but I'm finding now I look forward to training now that I have this group and my coach Des, and regardless of whether I achieve my goals next year I'm just enjoying the process, and I think it's just a really healthy part of my life," said Buckman, who works in the Department of Defence.<\/p>\n "I'm really looking forward to feeling fitter. I know that's going to come in time.<\/p>\n "It's so worth it if you just keep chipping away. I'd really like to see what comes out of that enjoyment.<\/p>\n "It's an itch that I just have to scratch.\ufeff<\/p>\n "I don't think anyone expects me to run better than I have been. I've already been top six in the world (at the 2013 world championships).<\/p>\n "But for me it would just be a remarkable comeback to make an Olympics team again.<\/p>\n "Seeing Leanne do so well gives me confidence in my own training and the confidence that I can get results out of this group, too.<\/p>\n "I know it's a tall order … I'm not saying it's going to be easy and I may not get there, but I've got nothing to lose by trying."<\/p>\n If Buckman does qualify for Paris 2024, she will consider it \ufeffa much greater achievement than reaching the 2012 or 2016 Olympics.<\/p>\n "\ufeffI'd have a completely different perspective," she said.<\/p>\n "I'd just feel amazed to get back to that level and to be competing against people at an elite level, whereas back in London and Rio I was so disappointed to not make the final.<\/p>\n "Obviously I will still set my heights high, but just getting there in the first place is the big mountain to climb now, as opposed to wanting to be in the final … Now I have to really climb my way if I'm going to make it."<\/p>\n Buckman graduated from the University of Oregon in 2011, before joining the group overseen by Nic Bideau, the Melbourne-based running guru who coached Cathy Freeman, and now coaches Brett Robinson, Jack Rayner, Ryan and Genevieve Gregson, Sinead Diver and a host of other stars.<\/p>\n Buckman parted ways with Bideau after the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and while she loved being a member of his star-studded stable, \ufeffshe looks back on her time as a professional athlete with regrets.<\/p>\n "I look back and wish I hadn't been so focused on running that I let\ufeff other parts of my life slip," she said.<\/p>\n "I was studying while I was running but I didn't gain much work experience.<\/p>\n "I also didn't hang out with many people outside of running, so once I was forced to confront life outside of my sport I realised the value of investing in other areas of your life.<\/p>\n "On the positive side, it's made me appreciate racing when I can, because when it was taken away … I realised how lucky I was to have those opportunities. When I get on the line now I'm more grateful to be there."<\/p>\n She's also taken lessons out of her mental health struggles.<\/p>\n "It's made me a little bit more conscious of taking good care of myself outside of running, because if you're not enjoying other parts of your life and things fall by the wayside with running then you're going to have nothing to fall back\ufeff on, so I'm not as hard on myself these days and I know that my life is going to move on regardless of what result I put out there," Buckman said.<\/p>\n "I guess I also know that no matter how bleak things can be, it does get better in time. You just have to keep going. That's what I've learnt; that if you just keep looking for opportunities and keep putting yourself out there then things are going to improve. Nothing stays the same.<\/p>\n "\ufeffI know how things can spiral if you don't keep on top of the little things and take a step back when you need a rest and do something to get yourself out of a low mood.<\/p>\n "It's really important to just keep moving forward.<\/p>\n "I like the value of persistence. If you just keep trying then things will eventually get better."<\/p>\n When Buckman talks about her Paris Olympics dream, her drive is palpable.\ufeff<\/p>\n "That's what makes it worth trying for."<\/p>\n If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via<\/strong> lifeline.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.<\/strong><\/p>\n \ufeffFor a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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