Before the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, Australia’s racewalkers turned to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in pursuit of marginal gains, accessing specialist support across altitude training, physiology, biomechanics and recovery.
For Isaac Beacroft and Timothy Fraser, that included three weeks living in the AIS Altitude House, Australia’s largest simulated altitude accommodation facility, to support their endurance training while also accessing recovery and performance services.
“It’s a massive benefit of training at the AIS; you’ve got everything you need right at your fingertips” Beacroft said.
“When you are at 3,000 metres everything outside of the house does feel a little bit harder because your body is using less oxygen, so when we do track sessions and hard walks, you do feel it.”
That preparation helped Beacroft claim the Australian Athletics 10,000m Race Walking Championships at the AIS track and earn automatic nomination for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Elizabeth McMillen also secured her place on the Australian team after winning the women’s national title at the same event.
In the lead-up, she accessed AIS Performance Services for DXA body scans and sleep and recovery education, while Fraser complemented his Altitude House stay with VO₂ max testing in the Physiology Lab to help inform his training plan.
For fellow team members Jemima Montag and Rebecca Henderson, the focus was on technique as the pair worked alongside AIS Biomechanics to analyse and refine each step.
AIS Senior Biomechanist Daniel Cottam said the team looked at how the athletes’ technique changed as walking speed increased to better understand both performance and injury risk.
“Using our Vicon motion capture system, force plates and electromyography, we’re able to build a detailed picture of their movements and how their hamstring muscles activate at various speeds,” said Cottam.
Now, as Australia’s racewalkers line up in Glasgow, the focus shifts from preparation to performance, where the smallest margins could make all the difference.
