Australian sporting legend Dr Jana Pittman has praised the Grow A Star concept, stating it’s important for youngsters to have positive role models in their lives.

The two-time world and four-time Commonwealth Games champion hurdler was a special guest at the Newcastle-based organisation’s fundraiser at Noah’s at the Beach on Friday 13 September.

And, the inspirational athlete and, now, junior doctor enthralled everyone with her journey.

But, the mother-of-six was highly-impressed with Grow a Star and its partnerships manager Michelle Faithfull and coordinator Shane Marshall.

The Home in Place initiative is a youth mentoring and scholarship program that helps young people overcome social and financial barriers to achieve their academic, sporting or artistic dreams.

“It’s amazing,” Pittman said.

“Plus, it really resonated with me.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to do it is my own father lost his parents very young.

“And, while it wasn’t a formal arrangement [like Grow A Star], he had someone in his world that basically backed him to be the first person in his family to attend university.

“So, what they did for my dad (Brian) virtually gave me my life.

“That’s what this foundation is doing, too.

“It’s creating opportunities for people who, possibly, wouldn’t be able to have that if their life wasn’t touched by this group.

“I’m very excited to be here because I feel it’s close to my heart.

“I’ve had some great mentors in my life from my mother Jackie to Cathy Freeman, as well as a few others.”

Grow A Star has handed out more than 700 grants since 2012, funding almost $80,000 in the past financial year alone.

On this latest occasion, Evan Barrass (Hyflow Plumbing Solutions Scholarship), Alaiyah Thomas (Joan and John McCosker Scholarship), Zachary Thomson (Coastal Fire Services Scholarship) and Tahlia Weiley (AON Scholarship) were the beneficiaries.

“By enabling young people to pursue their passions, they build the self-confidence to achieve their highest ambitions and foster habits and behaviours that can set them up for life,” Pittman said.

“That is so important.

“If I had to give them any advice it would be love what you do.

“And, be patient… it [life] goes very quickly, so it’s okay to put off other things for a while and have them sort of circle in the background.

“I went from athletics to medicine, via SAS Australia.

“Looking back, it’s been an eclectic run.

“But, I think what I do now is the greatest job in the world.

“Every day, I get to go and help birth babies [or] sit with women who have gone through cancer diagnoses… I’m only very junior as a doctor but the future of hopefully being an obstetrician gynaecologist for the next 30 years is extraordinary.

“Also, I have the chance to talk about things that I really think we need to give a voice to, such as incontinence, human papillomavirus (HPV), cervical cancer, pap smears, miscarriage and endometriosis.

“I learned so much from the disappointments, I think they’ve really put me in good stead for the rest of my career.”

My greatest success is being comfortable with being really authentic and owning some very unusual personality traits; being comfortable with being called Drama Jana, for instance.

Jana Pittman

And, that’s saying something.

Pittman was the first-ever woman to represent Australia in the Summer and Winter Olympics.

She personified resilience and determination as a hurdler.

However, when continued injuries hampered her athletics stint, she swapped the track for the ice.

Pittman joined the Australian women’s bobsleigh team.

If that wasn’t enough, she completed a Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery and a Masters of Reproductive Medicine and is the ambassador for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation.

In 2021, she took part in Channel 7’s SAS Australia, making it to the last day and the only female remaining in the final four recruits.

“That was an experience,” Pittman told the Newcastle Weekly.

“I mean, I learned more in SAS Australia about my limitations than I would have expected to do.

“So, I came out of that feeling very cathartic around my sport and my life… and in a different way.

“Like it didn’t push me on to do harder things, which you think the show did.

“That’s how I’ve always seen myself, but I guess other people probably saw another side to me.

“My greatest success is being comfortable with being really authentic and owning some very unusual personality traits; being comfortable with being called Drama Jana, for instance.

“I’m quirky.

“I used to think that was a negative and my passion and my dramatic nature was a turn-off for people, [but] it’s actually what makes me successful.

“It allows me to move past adversity and heartache quickly… and be that driven, resilient, passionate, determined person that has certainly held me very well in life.”

With the 2024 Paris Olympics now done and dusted, Pittman admitted she was thoroughly overwhelmed by the performance of the national track and field competitors.

“How good were they?” she said.

“Most of the time, our team has only won one or two medals.

“Obviously, Nina Kennedy did amazingly in the pole vault and Jess Hull in the 1,500m.

“Then you thrown in our two high-jumpers Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.

“But, I was blown away by Jemima Montag, bringing home two medals in the walk.

“It’s pretty impressive when you see these guys getting out there and mixing with the best in the world.”

As for Pittman’s future, she’s contemplating a lengthier stay in Newcastle, having been in the city quite regularly recently.

“I’ve actually thought about living here, so it’s potentially on the cards down the track,” she said.

“My parents only live two hours north, near Taree, in Old Bar and I have a lot of friends in Newcastle.

“I have also raced here many, many years ago, so there are several fond memories.

“On top of that, I love the hospital at John Hunter.

“I think it would be a great place to work at some stage.

“But, you know, you’ve got to wait until the time’s right for your family and things like that.

“So, in the meantime, we’ll regularly visit until then.”

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