Jessica Stenson (Trengove)

A London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic athlete, Jessica Stenson's won three consecutive medals at the Commonwealth Games during her 14-year career on the national team. Her most recent competition in the green and gold was a brilliant win in the marathon at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Growing up in the South Australian country town of Naracoorte Jessica recalled how the town lived and breathed sport. Throughout her junior years she was heavily involved in a variety of sports including netball, basketball, tennis, athletics and school cross country. After meeting Benita Willis in 2000, she was inspired to not only continue to follow her career closely but also engage more in athletics. That same year, while in year 7, and aged 13, she went to her first Australian Cross Country Championships where she won gold. 

Jess continued to run on the track and in cross country but it was not until she was 21 (in 2008) that she started to specialise in athletics. In 2008, she started to train under her current coach Adam Didyk and started to appear on the podium more regularly in 2010, winning the national cross-country title and competing at the World Half Marathon Championships and World University Cross Country. 

In March 2012, she made a stunning marathon debut of 2:31.02 in Nagoya, the fastest ever by an Australian. It earned her Olympic selection for London where she placed 38th in 2:31.17, just outside her PB. At the London Olympics, Jess was on the team with her idol Benita Willis.

The next two years Jess was very successful in marathon, 11th in Moscow at the 2013 IAAF World Championships and winning bronze in 2014 Commonwealth Games. In 2016 she secured her second Olympic appearance for Rio, but had to overcome a metatarsal stress fracture in the leadup to compete. She maintained her high-quality championship record, placing 22nd. 

At the 2017 World Championships in London she maintained her superb championship record finishing ninth in 2:28.59. Her placing was the highest ever by an Aussie woman at the world championships and the best by an Aussie woman at a global meet (Worlds or Olympics) since 1988 – 29 years ago.  At the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, she won her second consecutive bronze medal at the Games

She gave birth to son Billy in November 2019 and the news of a postponed Tokyo Olympics gave Jess a chance to be selected, however, with Australian borders closed, getting to races was difficult. Athletics Australia would organise an April 2021 race held in Sydney but due to persistent pain in her right quad and a diagnosis of a bone injury, Jess could not start in the race.

She binge watched the Tokyo Olympics and was inspired to chase a third Olympic appearance in Paris. She was set for her next marathon in October 2021 in Perth, but in the leadup was suffering a bone stress injury in her lower back just eight weeks before the race. She overcame this difficulty to clock a significant PB time of 2:25.15. This time was not only a Commonwealth Games and World Championship qualifier, but also moved her up to equal fifth all-time Australian.

Selected for the marathon for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Jess was in top form in the leadup clocking a very fast 31:49 10km at Launceston in June. Overcoming COVID while training in St Moritz, prior to the Commonwealth Games, she ran brilliant in Birmingham to win. She became the first female to win three consecutive Commonwealth Games marathon medals. She defeated a strong Aussie contingent – Sinead Diver and Eloise Wellings.

“I’m proud of my team. We did this together today. This medal is certainly not just mine, I want all of the girls to feel like they’re wearing it because we did that together.”

In September 2023 she had a second child, Ellie. Then racing the clock to compete in a marathon before the qualifying period for the Paris Olympics closed, seven months after giving birth she clocked a PB time of 2:24:01 on 7 April 2024 at the Daegu Marathon.