Gooloogong's rising star Riley Whatman is set to follow in the footsteps of iconic Australian Indigenous athletes like Cathy Freeman and Kyle Vander Kuyp after being selected to attend Athletics Australia's prestigious Raise the Bar Indigenous Academy, held in Melbourne last week.
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The 16-year-old Red Bend Catholic student was amongst 24 talented Indigenous athletes from across Australia to attend the program, which involved a week of training with leading coaches, a visit to the Collingwood Football Club and a cooking session with Coles Masterchef Michael Weldon.
Riley, a talented middle-distance runner, said the experience has inspired him to aim for an Olympic Games.
"Raise the Bar was an amazing experience and has really inspired me to become a better athlete and hopefully represent Australia at an Olympic Games."
"I learnt so much from the week and it was great to meet Australian athletes like Kyle Vander Kuyp, Linden Hall and Jemima Montag.
"I also really liked the session we had at the Collingwood Football Club with the AFL and AFLW players," he said.
Coles' Head of Indigenous Affairs Russell James said Coles was proud to have employed 10 Indigenous athletes as a result of the program.
"As Australia's largest private-sector employer of Indigenous Australians, Coles sees the Raise the Bar program as an important way to inspire young Indigenous athletes to pursue their dreams both on and off the track," Russell said.
Dual Olympian and Raise the Bar mentor Kyle Vander Kuyp said the Academy provides invaluable support to young Indigenous Australians looking to pursue a career on and off the track.
"Raise the Bar not only helps Indigenous Australians to become better athletes, but it equips them with skills to pursue tertiary studies and gain employment. The skills they learnt with partners like Coles and the University of Melbourne will help them to study at university or get a job during or after their athletics careers," he said.
The Raise the Bar Indigenous Academy is a partnership with Athletics Australia, University of Melbourne and Coles and has supported around 200 Indigenous athletes since 2014.
