at hl e t ic s 25
at hl e t ic s 25
You competed at the last Commonwealth Games, where you were one of the youngest members of the team. How much do you feel you have developed as an athlete since then?
The 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games was my first senior Australian team and I had the best time of my life. I was one of the babies of the team but being surrounded by older and more experienced athletes helped me to grow up and mature.
Since Melbourne, I have been to World Juniors, World Cup, two World University Games and the inaugural Continental Cup and these major competitions have all contributed to my development as an athlete. I am more grounded and realistic now and I think that I prepare for competitions in a more mature and calm way now. I’ ve just tried to make the most
of any opportunity I get and learn from it in the most positive way.
What have been your highlights and lowlights since the last Comm Games and how have they influenced you as an athlete? lauren was undefeated in the 400m hurdles during the domestic season.
A few months after Comm Games I went to World Juniors in Beijing where I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well. I really wanted to make the final but ended up finishing 12th overall, which, in the scheme of things is a solid performance, but at the time I was disappointed.
In 2007 I started doing some specific long jump training, as opposed to my 400H training and competed at the World Uni Games in Thailand where I jumped a massive PB of 6.40m and finished 6th. That was a really great comp.
In 2009 I had a good season, running a world champs B-qualifier and PB the week before nationals. Unfortunately I was beaten at nationals and subsequently went to Europe chasing more qualifiers and then not getting picked for World Champs. Losing nationals by