Oboya in great place to tackle the Olympics
AFTER prioritising her mental health and changing coaches, Bendere Oboya has fallen back in love with running and set her sights on making a mark at the Tokyo Olympics.
The smooth-running 19year-old, who has drawn comparisons with a young Cathy Freeman, endured some rocky times in 2019.
But the Ethiopian-born Oboya finished the season well, smashing her 400m personal best with a run of 51.21sec and qualifying for the semifinals at the world championships in Doha.
Even so, she realised something needed to change, making the shift to the squad of coach John Quinn.
“I’m really happy with that move. John is great, he knows what he’s doing,” said Oboya after her impressive 400m victory in 52.06 at the Melbourne Track Classic on Thursday night.
“My mental health came first. I wasn’t happy so I decided that I had to put that first.
“I got to a point where I didn’t really care about the Olympics, so I knew I needed to move myself out of that scenario.
“Me and my coach really weren’t on good terms and I didn’t want that to interrupt my dreams.
“Everyone’s dream is to go to the Olympics.”
On the eve of the national titles it was revealed her thencoach Greg Smith had been raided by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
Smith had his coaching accreditation withdrawn, which further strained the relationship between Oboya and Athletics Australia. Smith said last month he had since been cleared and given the green light to resume coaching.