MILDURA Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Shantelle Thompson is amping up her training this year as she commits to a four-year Olympic-type cycle to add an elusive black belt title to her collection.
Thompson, 41, gained the black belt in mid-2023 but had an interrupted season last year as the single mother-of-five, three of who still live at home, with the youngest just three, juggled competing priorities.
These included financial restrictions, mental health battles, a bout of pneumonia as well as funding challenges with her Mildura-based First Nations women and youth support group Kiilalaana Foundation.
It meant she was unable to return to the IBJJF World Masters Championships in Las Vegas after competing there as a black-belt in the masters division in 2023.
But despite the frustrations of 2024, the three-time world champion in lower belt grades is doubling down this year with her sights on Las Vegas in September as well as an IBJJF World Masters event in Los Angeles expected to be in May and – the sport’s pinnacle – the World Professional Championship in Dubai’s Abu Dhabi in November.
“I had to weave a lot of things together last year and things didn’t go to plan, I only did one international event and a couple around Australia,” she said.
“Life is a lot different on the other side of 40 and I had to balance priorities.”
Despite the speed bumps, which included ongoing recovering from an emergency caesarian that fractured her coccyx in 2021, Thompson still managed a silver and bronze in that international event – in LA – and finished the year ranked No.3 in Australia in her two divisions and with her first international ranking in five years (No.91).
And the “proud” Barkindji/Ngiyampaa woman has returned to 4am training starts as she eyes a black belt title by 2028/9.
“I’ve given myself permission to compete despite a lot of women my age tapping out and saying ‘I can’t do things for myself’,” she said.
“I see it as a responsibility to be a role model for mums and young women to say you can compete while also being a mum.
“And I love the sport. It’s my playtime. I love watching competitors and travelling, and testing myself against the best in the world.
“Outside of getting my feet on country, and spending times with the youth as Auntie Shantelle, this is how I take care of myself.”
With no prizemoney in the sport, Thompson plans to fund her aspirations as best as she can – including by sharing her story through her Black Belt podcast, at speaking gigs and via an upcoming memoir – but likely won’t be able to do it on her own.
“That’s the aspiration, but it’s dependent on resources,” she said.
She has secured her first sponsors – The Weight Buffet gym in Mildura and Melbourne’s NLA Trucking – but is hoping for more to help with the cost of training and attending competitions.
Meanwhile, she is training twice a day mostly in her garage, including sessions against her 15-year-old son, a “ball of muscle” who makes her feel her full 41 years.
“My body was 140kg-plus with my youngest son,” she said.
“It’s about building a body that is capable of being a world champion again, which is likely a four-year Olympic-type cycle.
“It’s about building the body and the mindset.
“Even if I don’t achieve my goal, it’s about who I will become along the way, the ripple effect.
“I want to show that sport can be a platform for empowerment, cultural connection, and breaking barriers.
“This journey is about inspiring others to rise above challenges and reminding them that they are capable of greatness.”
