Daniel Batman
Daniel is Nova’s husband and works closely with Nova in all areas of Business Management.
He has vast experience in indigenous health, having traveled with Nova to numerous communities throughout Australia over the past six years.
Daniel also has experience in Information Technology, bookkeeping, business administration, human resourse management and event management.
Daniel is also an athlete having competed at Olympics, commonwealth games,
four world championships and two world cups in events ranging from 4 x
100m, 200m, 400m and
4 x 400m. He is Australia’s best ever all round sprinter with personal
bests of 10.19, 20.44 and 45.02. Daniel is a multiple world championships
finalist and a national champion in both Australia and Great Britain.
Read on for more about Daniel's Sporting Career
At the age of 5 his family moved to Sydney, where most of the Batman family had already settled in the St. george area. Having attended the local Catholic Schools, At the age of 12 Daniel showed talent in Sports, being awarded the Street Scholarship to the elite private school Cranbrook.
At the end of 1997, Daniel Batman decided to persue his opportunities in Track and Field. Traveling from the under 20 National camp in Athletics at the AIS, to the National under 16 camp for Rugby. The camps overlapped by a day and he knew it was the time to specialize. He based the decision on the prospects of international travel and the possibilities of competing in an individual sport against the best in the World. Growing up with the spectacle of watching athletes like carl lewis and Ben Johnson probably influenced the decision.
His move to Scots college in 1998 coincided with the World Junior Championships which Batman won a gold medal in the 4 x 400m and made a semi final in the 400m despite being just 17. ‘ The USA had never been beaten in this event, we were the underdogs and I think that drove us to be at our best.’
On his return in the commonwealth games trial final he tore his hamstring,
ruling him out for the 1999 season. A change of coach in late 1999 saw
Daniel recording personal best performances, a consistent 45 second runner,
he made his first National team in early 2000 at the age of 18. The tour
of south Africa involved the test match vs South Africa, which was where
he first met his wife Nova, when they became friends in the lead up to
the Olympics in Sydney. ‘It was tough traveling with the seniors
for the first time. It’s every man for himself on and off the track.
Nova was always a loyal and genuine friend to me.’
Daniel made the Olympic team in the 400m and 4 x 400m relay, however injury
saw him bow out in the heats and ended his first major championships. ‘ I knew the leg wasn’t right in the lead up but I had to
get out and give it a go, it snapped at the half way.’
Daniel and Nova got together in early 2001 and traveled throughout the
USA and Europe, however tougher qualifying standards meant Daniel failed
to qualify for the World Championships. Nova did compete in the championships,
however pregnancy meant that she was 8 weeks pregnant and felt sick on
the day of her race. Destiny was born in March 2002 and their family with
Jessica aged 12 settled in Canberra. ‘ when Destiny was born, everything
hit home for me, my priorities, supporting Nova and my family were the
most important thing in the world.’
Daniel began training with the brumbies which lasted for six months and
provided the income stream he needed to support his first child. ‘
Training with the Brumbies was a great experience for me. The comradelries
and team skills I learnt there made me a lot less selfish. It was one
of the first times I really had to work in a team environment.’
However he was determined to reach new heights on the track, his first
passion. At the end of 2002 he made his return to the track and finished
5th in the World Cup in the 4 x 400m.
In 2003 he posted his personal best in the 400m, 45.02 and headed to England
to contest the World indoor championships where he finished 6th, after
winning the British championships in an Australian record 45.93. Later
that year he contested the World championships in Paris, but didn’t
have the best European campaign due to illness.
2004 saw the birth of Jack Batman in December and Daniel took the season
off the track.
A good off season saw Batman perform a personal best in the 100m (10.19)
and 200m (20.44) in the lead up to the 2005 World championships where
he made the semi finals, and USA newcomers Spearmon and Gay saw the USA
record the top four place getters at the championships.
In the 4 x 100m relay, Australia finished 4th with batman at first leg, only .02 out of the medals.
Batman’s form continued through the beginning of 2006, winning and placing in numerous international GP’s throughout the season, Batman ended the season with a world standing of 6th, competing in the World Athletics final in Stuttgart. ‘ I got used to performing at International meets, and found the support systems to be able to travel and compete successfully.’
Earlier in the season Batman made the commonwealth semi final in the 200m and was first runner in the 4 x 100m. But the team dropped the baton at the last leg, despite being in the lead.
Now a senior International athlete, Daniel, 26 is a National Champion in two countries, hold two Australian records, has represented Australia at 8 Major Championships and is a mentor for a lot of young Sportspeople.
Daniel is a father of three kids and living in Canberra, training at the
AIS. He has taken a season off to help Nova develop their new company
NIASH, National Indigenous Advocates supporting Health. The company is
involved in the delivery of communication strategies and health promotion
to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
View article on Batman and Indigenous rights