Olympic Gold

Lauren Burns created sporting history by winning the first ever Olympic gold medal for Taekwondo when the sport made its debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Lauren was one of only three Australian women to win an individual Olympic Gold Medal, along with Cathy Freeman and Susie O’Neill. Her amazing triumph at the Sydney Games was achieved against the odds – requiring enormous discipline, commitment, perseverance and teamwork. For Lauren to win the Gold she had to shed weight, almost starving herself, overcome numerous injuries and operations, and make many personal sacrifices. “But in the long run it was all worth it!"

The nation watched as Lauren's victory brought the Australian public and Olympic crowd to its feet.

About Lauren

Before her Olympic win, few people knew that Lauren had been 12 times Australian Champion and had achieved a string of international titles including numerous medals at world championship level. Lauren’s gold medal has put Australia on the map as a major international competitor for the sport of Taekwondo.

She won medals at the World Championships in 1996 and 1997 and won Gold at the US Open in 1999. But the crowning glory was undoubtedly her Olympic victory in the Under 49 Kilogram Class.

Since the Sydney Olympics, Lauren has emerged as one of the most successful Olympians from these Games. She has worked diligently to raise her profile to position herself in the echelon of Australia’s most sought after speakers. She has spoken to over 200,000 people in the past 10 years and in her presentations

Lauren talks about what it takes to be successful. She transforms her stories and experiences into life skills making them entertaining and relevant to listeners.

Lauren enjoys a variety of commitments, she was ambassador for World Vision’s Destroy a Minefield campaign in Cambodia (2001 – 2002). Lauren’s main focus within the community is her involvement with Red Dust Role Models, conducting healthy lifestyle clinics in remote Aboriginal & Indian communities. Lauren was a representative on the Athletes Commission of both the Australian Olympic Committee and Taekwondo Australia and is a director on the board of Appin Hall Children’s Foundation.

The success of Lauren’s autobiography, Fighting Spirit resulted in her travelling Australia to promote the book, which was listed in the Sydney Morning Herald as the number one best selling sports book. She has recently launched her own design of the Zip Bag, under the umbrella company Love Your Planet.

Lauren is currently practicing as a Naturopath (Bachelor Health Science), conducting motivational presentations, workshops and corporate health programs and is a mother of a beautiful boy.

Lauren has the ability to create active audience participation with groups of 10 to 10,000. During her more ‘active’ workshops Lauren has over 200 people breaking boards, all in the space of four minutes! Her presentations always leave the audience buzzing with excitement.

“Lauren’s presentations are always inspirational, captivating and entertaining.  She is unquestionably one of the best speakers in this country."

Career Results

National Competition Experience

• 12 Times Australian Champion since 1993
  
• Australian Team Member Since 1993

International Highlights

• 2000 Olympic Gold Medallist
• 2000 US Open, Silver
• 1999 US Open, Gold
• 1997 World Championships, Bronze
• 1996 World Cup, Bronze
• 1995 Belgian Open, Gold
• 1994 IOC Seoul International, Gold

Achievements

• Best Selling Author “Fighting Spirit"
• Australian Natural Therapists Association – Bursary Award 2009
• Order Of Australia Medal
• 3rd Dan Black Belt
• Young Australian of the Year, Nillumbik Shire 2001
• Sports Medal Recipient 2001
• Leader Newspaper Sports Star of the Year 2001
• Blitz Female Full Contact Fighter of the Year 1999, 2001
• Women’s Team Captain, Australian Taekwondo Team
• Taekwondo Australian Fighter of the Year 2000

Presentation Topics Include

• Keynote "What can be Imagined can be Achieved"
  
• Keynote and Workshop "Athlete, Coach, Team
• Vitality Program

Testimonials

Still refreshing and exciting.
Municipal Works Officers Association

“Excellent. As our athlete who thanked Lauren said after her speech , I can not speak for anyone else but ‘I am inspired, Thank you.’ From my personal view point after organising 7 annual awards night I can say she was the best speaker we have had. a true champion who really related to the audience and was very giving of here time."
Northern Inland Academy of Sport 

"A young, energetic and articulate person.  Lauren was well spoken, talked to the audience, gave colourful examples which made the audience laugh, as well as making our function a success."
AMP 

“Excellent.  Lauren has an outstanding story to tell and is generous with her medal, autographs, photographs etc.  I strongly recommend her."
ANZ Bank 

“Excellent.  More than a draw card, Lauren is interesting, natural & relaxed as a presenter and has some great stories regarding pushing oneself & overcoming obstacles."
Tatts Pokies 

“Excellent.  Lauren was a perfect choice for this event.  Her delivery and ‘story telling’ ability made for an enthralling 40 minutes.  Most importantly she was completely ‘real’."
Cadbury Schweppes 

“Your inspirational message to our guests was first class and really sealed for us a great night of recognition, for the top achievers in our Dealer network.  I know that our people will benefit from your experience and can only hope that some of them can “dare to dream", and achieve just as you have done."
Mercedes-Benz 

“Lauren is a warm and articulate person whose message of commitment to a goal is very appropriate to our business.  Lauren vividly described how she envisioned her success and the self-discipline required to achieve her dream of a Gold Medal.  She is very accessible and made herself available to the press and guests alike, all of whom loved her."
Mary Kay Cosmetics 

“Excellent.  Lauren was fantastic.  She is very engaging, entertaining and was very generous with her time.  Would highly recommend her."
Frank Russell Co 

“A strong speaker with an ability to convince in respect of the sincerity of her message"
Australia Post 

“Excellent.  Really easy to work with and doesn’t have the “take the money and run attitude."
Big Gig Event Company Pty Ltd 

“Excellent.  Lauren was a good choice.  The audience were captivated by her presentation.  Lauren related well to the audience.
North Melbourne Institute of Technology (NMIT)

“Excellent.  Lauren was very well received by our delegates.  They found her inspiring and enjoyed her natural and practical approach."
Retire Invest 

“Excellent.  Clients found her video & demonstration highly interesting.  They also enjoyed her comments on motivation & focus in relation to her sports achievements.  Females in the audience identified with her achievements as an Australian Female athlete."
CSFB 

“Excellent.  Lauren gave a great presentation.  Her manner was very natural and friendly.  She had the audience captivated.  We got very positive feedback from both the Australia and Japanese members of the audience."
Women’s Federation for World Peace 

“Excellent.  Lauren was a breath of fresh air.  Her story and presentation were inspirational, enthusiastic and “real".  Lauren has a warm, delightful personality which totally captures the audience."
Alliance SI 

“Excellent.  Lauren is young, fresh, unassuming and communicated brilliantly to a mixed audience."
Seeley International 

“Excellent.  Lauren’s message was excellent to set the scene for students to focus on the year ahead.  She was articulate and captivated her audience."
Beacon Hills College 

“Excellent.  A great ambassador of her sport, the Olympics and young Australians overall.  A wonderful person."
Employment National 

“Not only was Lauren well prepared, inspiring and provoking, she made people feel special with her generous time mingling with everyone.  I would recommend her in a heart beat."
InCircles Pty Ltd 

“Our feedback forms were full of praises for her and many people commented on her motivational skills.  She was very generous with her time."
Southern Cross Computer Systems 

“Excellent.  Captivating, inspirational and a remarkable person and presentation.  A lovely person."
TABCORP 

“Our members enjoyed your warm and personal style, and felt themselves drawn into the story of your preparation for the Olympics, your participation in this great event, and your down to earth way of organising your life afterwards.  Your story was inspirational, and gave us the direction for the planning and hard work that needs to go into being successful in any endeavour."
First National Real Estate 

“Excellent.  Lauren was very natural and her enthusiasm was catching.  She involved her audience and worked extremely well in our small and intimate setting.  We received great feedback from all who attended."
City of Glen Eira 

“Excellent.  Lauren is exceptional, connects very well with her audience and gives out heaps of energy.
Colorado Group Ltd 

“Excellent.  Lauren was a fantastic role model and very engaging speaker a shear delight."
Department of Education 

“Excellent.  Professional, enjoying and motivating – a fantastic conference presentation package."
ACTA 

“Excellent.  Lauren inspired and entertained the audience with her simple but powerful messages on how to succeed though sacrifice and determination."
City of Whittlesea 

“Lauren and Martin were sensational.  You were right in recommending them.  I couldn’t believe how well they rounded off our programme."
Wrigley Pacific 

“Excellent.  Great presentation.  Interesting and informative.  Action!."
Victorian Taxi Association 

“Excellent.  Action packed, a great speaker and a very pleasant personality.  Kept our delegates enthralled.  Passing the gold medal around was also a great idea.
Regional Insurance Brokers Association 

“Full of energy – inspirational.  They closed our performance perfectly – all messages relevant to what we had done."
The Wrigley Company 

“Excellent.  Lauren’s energy was intoxicating.  Our guests were mesmerised."
PriceWaterhouseCoopers 

“Excellent. Not only was Lauren an inspirational and thoroughly entertaining speaker, she was also very approachable and down to earth. She signed autographs and posed for photos all evening and was more than happy to do so. I highly recommend her!"
Fairfax Community Press

As always, Lauren was perfect in every sense. She has a warm, friendly, open and engaging manner which makes her very easy to listen to. Her message is spot on. She subtly introduced at least ten significant pointers to success during her presentation. Her Tae Kwon Do demo at the end simply brought everything together in an entertaining and dramatic way.
Kardinia International College