Jana Pittman has enthralled us time and again with her athletic achievements.

From running to hurdles to bobsled, she has crossed many finish lines for Australia: at the Sydney Olympics at age 16, as the youngest 400m hurdles champion at the World Championships in Paris in 2003, by winning multiple gold medals at the Manchester and Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and most recently as the first female Australian dual winter and summer Olympian.

On Sunday, she will be at the finish line again for a cause greater even than sporting glory.

For the third year in a row, Ms Pittman will stand at the end of the Mother’s Day Classic, microphone in hand, helping the survivors, supporters and family members of those affected by breast cancer to share their stories with an attentive crowd.

“The first year, I remember I spent hours and hours there, and I have to say it was one of the best days I’d had in a long time,” she recalls.

A triumphant Jana Pittman at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. Photo: Getty

Ms Pittman much prefers to interview down on the track rather than standing on stage – an idea that came from her mother.

“I get a real buzz out of stopping people and saying, ‘if you’ve got a story to share, let me know’,” she says. “I think it’s a very special kind of way to be able to let them share it with others.”

“It was actually my mum’s idea. She came to the one in Melbourne with me, and she said, ‘Why don’t we ask people about their stories?’ So we kind of designed [the idea of] interviewing people about their stories in Melbourne two years ago.”

“People line up and say, ‘I’m running for my mum, or I’ve been in remission for five years’. And other people in the crowd actually hear their stories and they hear that they’re not the only ones who’ve been through it or they’ve also lost a loved one.”

Not content with Commonwealth Gold and donning both our hot and cold Olympic uniforms, the busy mother-of-one is keen to make another national contribution, this time in the field of medical research.

Ms Pittman is now in her second year of medicine at the University of Western Sydney, with another three years of study ahead of her before graduation.

Her family and close friends are the inspiration for this dramatic career change.

“My father had cancer, and one of my closest friends currently has breast cancer herself, so when you have a chance to give a little bit back to those you love, it makes it really rewarding.”

During her weekly training days at a local hospital, she often meets patients on her ward rounds who suffer from breast and other forms of cancer.

“Every disease that is life threatening is heartbreaking,” says Ms Pittman.

“I am very passionate about medicine,” she says, “and particularly women’s health, so anything with a breast cancer notion or anything with regard to trying to promote such a great cause is something I’m very interested in.”

The Mother’s Day Classic is a perfect fit for Ms Pittman, who serves as one of its national ambassadors. In this role, she gets to personally connect with the participants, while also raising funds for what she considers to be “fundamental” research.

“Sadly, we’re so often fighting disease after the fact when we could try to prevent it,” she says. “If we can find vaccines and methods to actually prevent people from getting breast cancer in the first place, like the vaccine that was found for cervical cancer, we might actually cure the disease permanently.”

Ms Pittman says the thought of developing cancer sometimes weighs on her own mind. For her, the message is to stay mentally positive and physically fit.

“Of course, everybody is going to be worried about their own future health, but you have to live each day as it comes and not put that fear in your life.”

As an athlete, her body has been her “tool” – arguably even her weapon. Now, her brain and those of others working studiously in lab coats could be a key in the fight against breast cancer.

The New Daily is a proud sponsor of the Mothers’ Day Classic, a fun run and walk, which raises funds for breast cancer research. It will take place on May 11. Visit the website to register online before the event. 

For details of The New Daily’s Mother’s Day Classic photo competition, click here.