Up for auction to the highest bidder, a signed London 2012 competition singlet. Proceeds will help my coach fly over to Moscow with me for the World Championships.

If you are interested contact me via my facebook fan page, or mention me on twitter @bennharradine

Have fun!

Recently I posed the idea of asking some of my fans to shoot me some questions to be answered. Sensible or not I endeavor to answer them the best way i know how… Here we go:

• Tui Lyon Why are you such a mad gay bogan?

  An interesting question you ask there Tui. I guess the only way I can answer that is to try and understand what a “Mad gay bogan” is?

  If you are insinuating that I, Benn Harradine am an “excellent happy Holden owner” i would have to concur. Although excellent and happy, I am not the owner of a lowered, V8, VT Holden with lowered 20″ rims and a Milo tin exhaust pipe. (*see picture below for those of my foreign friends who aren’t familiar with what a “Bogan” is)

  

  Secondly although my sexual orientation is questionable, I’m not sure if I can familiarise myself as a member of the Gay community just yet. I am however of the belief that everyone deserves the chance to do and be whatever they want! Mad, Gay, or Bogan at that.
• Josh Lumley I wanna know the answer haha

  Please see above response Josh
• Wyatt Doughty what was your best discus throw in high school or is it secondary school?

  Wyatt, I won my first national title one year after taking up Discus in Adelaide. My best mark then was 61.02 with the 1kg at 13 years.
• Alex Logan Benn, what are your top 3 favorite discs to throw?

  A great question and please keep in mind these answers are honest and not based on endorsements.

  My number one “old faithful” is the Denfi Jurgen Schult ‘Ultimate Spin’ This discus was made by an old man in Denmark and was a tribute to his craftsmanship. The originals are no longer made however I received my first one as a gift for my 14th birthday and I am still throwing it 15 years later!

  

  Denfi JS Ultimate Spin

  My second favourite is the Denfi Space Traveller. Feels great in my hand and flies true. A trustworthy tool in the swag of weaponry.

  

  Denfi Space Traveller

  Last but very not least. This limited edition Denfi Skymaster that I keep for special comps. Its spectacular.

  
• Alex Michalak Day in the life of a discus athlete

  A difficult question Alex. As there are so many components to the season I could say that there isn’t a single day that is the same as the other. Each day has its challenges and triumphs. If only people saw the work that goes on behind the scenes preparing, maintaining, recovering, fueling, planning, organising, battling to improve on every performance I think they would be pleasantly surprised. That to me is what is most impressive. Not just the performance itself.

  I myself try and pride myself on opportunity. Trying to do something different, something new and something that makes me smile as often as I can. Not just in training but in life in general!

  Maybe that is what the outfits are all about?
  

  Opportunity

• Alex Bucholtz Did you really go on a 3 day hiking trek with a guy named Jack Hoff?

  Tend to steer clear of that bloke Alex. I heard from your last experience with him, he is bad news!
• Henrik Wennberg If you are a young (16-19 years old) discus thrower and you have 10 hours per week to train. How would you reccomend spending them?

  What a great question!

  I think I would look at what is most important. Things to consider would be:

  Discus is very technical therefore learning movement, understanding technique and experimenting with the key points is number 1 priority. That includes dry turns in front of a mirror, breaking down key points of your throw, throwing different weighted implements and watching athletes who have established a good base level technique. Who do things efficiently based on you and your coach’s ideas of what a “good” technique is.

  The next would be athleticism. Running, jumping, hurdling, agility, explosive speed, flexibility, gymnastics, stretching and general fitness are things that are all key components of a discus throwers repertoire. In my opinion more important than grinding out big numbers in the weight room.

  Lastly, Strength. A decent overall strength level. Lifting weights to throw discus, not lifting weights to just be strong. We have to be mindful of why we are gaining strength. Is it to brag to others, or to throw a discus far?

  Friends I hope i have answered your questions well. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact me via my facebook fan page.

  Much Love

  ~Benn

It’s been a rocky few months. Lots of moves, finding a new domain, and working hard to get my body fit to throw again. It’s frustrating with technical events. I feel super powerful just inconsistent. Spraying throws all over the place.

My last 3 throws sessions have shown some decent promise. Hitting good markers with overweights and tools and trying to wrestle niggles related to not throwing for a while.

Tonight I had some great warm ups, even one of the officials was surprised but consistency was all over the shop.

After my second round I was hurting so Dad said “conditions have improved if you gonna rip one do it now but do it well” we had a plan coming here to execute some big throws. To be aggressive and use my experience.

so in I go and rip I did.

Was so pleased to post an A qualifier. Everything else is a bonus. It’s important not to get too far ahead of ourselves. Health is key this year.

Now back to base, get this back sorted and work on some consistency.

Thank you to the lovely folks of Townsville. So welcoming and friendly. Thanks primarily to Dad. You are my rock and the times we share are always fun! Enjoying this Athletics game and keeping up the smiles! #popsflipsthebird #yolothrow

You know those times when you feel like nothing in your life could be worse. When things don’t go the way you like them too, and you complain like the world is going to end? Meet Raymond. This guy is a true testament to the word resilience. WIthout going into the entire details of his story I can share with you that Ray was a budding rugby league player. He showed a great deal of promise as a junior. That all changed when Ray had a horrific car accident.

Originally from a cattle station in the Far North West of Queensland, Rays family sold up and moved into town to help rehabilitate him after his rehab. Driving countless hours back and forth from Charters Towers to make sure he was having the right care and his recovery was the best it could be.

Ray’s passion for sport remains and he throws a mean discus! Last year he was competing with me when I broke the Australian Record in Townsville. He gave me his very “unique” Charters Towers Athletics Club “Singlet” in which I wore with pride in Europe (as hideous as it is)

Ray is back again, training with me and cracking his usual jokes. Dad is spending some time helping him with his technique which has improved significantly in a short time. Its people like Ray and his loving family that remind me and us all, that we are fortunate to have what we have. Ray, although significantly hindered by his disabilities is limited by nothing. Mentally strong and happy to be alive.

I would like to say thank you to Ray and his family for keeping my feet on the ground. For inspiring me and reminding me to be thankful to my family and my lovely lady for being my number 1 supporters through thick and thin.

The Charters Towers “Singlet”

Myself and Ray

When you throw stuff around hundreds and thousands of times in your career something has to give. When I retire, whenever that may be, I’m surely going to be able to look down at my fingers, (that look like a bag of Twisties) and be reminded of the countless numbers of throws I did in training.

Click on the image to read the article.

The old team back together for a great week of training in Canberra. I would like to thank the physical therapy team at the institute for their continual help in getting me stronger than ever!

The sadistic physio Ben Rae-Smith continued to make me suffer but this time he tried a different approach. Tying his hair in pig tails in the effort to take my mind off the pain…worked for 20 seconds.

Keep your eye out for #popsflipsthebird as he continues to make sure we don’t take ourselves too seriously

Click on image to listen to the interview and read the story.

It’s Monday and who could think of a better way to start the week than locking in to focus with your coach for a week of throwing weights around!!

After this coffee of course!…