Chill out with Joseph Deng

From Kenya to Melbourne by way of Toowoomba and Ipswich. Joseph Deng has been on a journey, but he’s only just getting started. 

Hard work. Talent. Coffee. In that order.

Runner Joseph Deng has come a long way in a relatively short space of time, and is now on the cusp of realising a lifelong dream. But while he waits there’s still plenty of training to do, a lot of coffee to drink and a fair bit of PlayStation to be played. 

We caught up with Joseph, an Optus ambassador, to find out how he’s keeping his Olympic desire burning.

How’s everything going in your world?

It’s not going too bad. I’m just at home, going on a few jogs every now and then but there’s nothing too much going on.

Where would you be right now if everything was on track?

We were supposed to go to America at the start of May, we’d be in peak season right now. Olympic trials would have been over already, so we would know we’re in the team.

And you were in really good form…

Yeah, we were in good shape before all this happened. My training partner and I are currently number one and two in the world for the 800m.

Have you found it hard to stay focused now the Tokyo dream is on hold?

The Olympics are my main goal.

When I started running I told myself I wanted to be an Olympic finalist, so keeping that in my head keeps me going.

You’ve got an incredible story. Tell us about it.

I was born in a Kenyan refugee camp, and the first place I moved to was Toowoomba in Queensland.

That was in 2004 when I was six. I lived in Toowoomba for a while, and then I moved to Ipswich. And from Ipswich I moved to Melbourne.

That’s incredible. When did you take up athletics?

It was always something I did. My first race was 2006 or 2007 but I never trained or did any of that, I was more into soccer.

Oh yeah, who’s your favourite team?

Arsenal, but I’m a Kevin De Bruyne fan.

So what made you choose athletics?

My uncle told me I had to choose one thing. Athletics is fun, so I was like, yeah, I’ll just do athletics.

I guess it means you put all the pressure on yourself…

Yeah, if you don’t rock up to training, that’s on you. You just know that it’s going to come back and bite you when you go and race against the other big athletes.

If it’s race day and you’re pumping up, what are you listening to?

I like a lot of rap, so I listen to a lot of Meek Mill, NBA YoungBoy, some of the younger artists. I don’t train with music at all. I don’t even warm up with music.

So, Melbourne means coffee. Are you on the bandwagon?

Yeah, I’m a big coffee guy now. I’m a cap guy.

Apparently it’s the best coffee in the world…

Oh yeah, for sure. When I go to Perth or Brisbane, it just doesn’t feel the same. Nothing compares to Melbourne coffee.

How do you get your fix when you’re overseas?

There’s this one place in Belgium we go to. He’s been to Melbourne and he knows quite a few people here, so he makes pretty good coffee. We’re good mates now. We’re always there.

How many cups a day do you polish off?

When everything was normal I would probably do two to three cups a day, always café coffee. If I ride the bike it’s like a one minute ride down the road. We’ve become good mates with the owner.

And if you’re running a lot, you’re probably eating a lot. How are your skills in the kitchen?

I’m good with the basics, but my uncle cooks.

What’s the usual menu request?

Nah, I just let him cook. He cooks a lot of traditional food. We have a lot of beans, we eat a lot of rice and meat. Every meal has meat in it.

Tell me about working out at home…

There’s a circuit my coach gave us. I do 30 squats, 30 sit-ups and 30 push-ups for seven minutes. I’m trying to build up to 15 minutes.

That sounds tough. Is it getting boring doing that at home, though?

Nah, it’s actually pretty fun.

What else is keeping you busy?

I play a lot of PlayStation. I was playing a lot of FIFA, but I’ve just downloaded NBA because my mates were telling me to. I was playing all night last night.

I guess we’ve got nowhere else to be, so make the most of it, right?

Yeah, for sure.

Who’s your go-to team?

On FIFA, if I’m playing someone new and I don’t know what their playing style is, I’ll play with Manchester City. But if I’m just playing with anyone, lately I’ve been really confident and I just play with Arsenal. They’re not that good on FIFA, but I’ve been winning.

What about in NBA?

I was an Oklahoma City fan, but Russell Westbrook left so I followed him. I’m a Rockets fan now.

Awesome. Any positive words for everyone out there before we finish up?

Keep a positive mindset. Everyone’s going through it right now but it will be alright. Think of the long-term goal and you’ll get through it.

Perfect, thanks Joseph. Take it easy.

Thanks, you too.