Ida ecstatic as golden girls break two records
Geelong sprinter Ida Laherty knew a record was in reach going into Saturday’s national U20 Women’s 4x400m relay. What she didn’t know was she and her Victorian teammates would break not one but two records in the process.
Laherty, 17, helped Victoria secure gold in the relay at the 2024 Australian Junior Championships in Adelaide on Saturday, the team’s time of 3:40.92 not only breaking the Victorian record but the championship record in the process.
The Geelong Guild sprinter, along with Wangaratta’s Bella Pasquali, Grassmere’s Layla Watson and Melbourne’s Sophie Gregorevic, beat the previous championship record by 0.23 seconds. “We were aiming for the Vic record, but we didn’t think we’d actually get both,” Laherty said.
After finishing second to NSW in the relay at previous championships, Laherty, at her sixth national titles, was ecstatic to finally take home the gold.
“I feel like behind the scenes there is a lot of rivalry between the states when it comes to relays,” Laherty said. “We had a really good team together and we had some high expectations so it was good to take the gold.”
With New Zealand breathing down their neck for most of the race, pre-race favourites Victoria produced a composed run, with Laherty, taking the second leg, giving the team a five-stride lead when passing the baton to Watson.
“In the second leg you sort of cut across to the inside lane, so my aim was to cut across first,” Laherty said.
“I could feel them (New Zealand) coming up behind me in the end so I just tried to finish as strongly as I could.”
Watson also had to deal with New Zealand’s pressure, after they made an early charge in the third leg to take the lead before the smart Watson made her own move in the closing 200m to keep the lead in Victoria’s favour going into the final leg as Gregorevic brought it home.
Laherty also made the individual final of the U20 400m, to finish ninth in 55.62 seconds.
With the season finished, the Year 12 student said she’d take a break for returning for winter training in late May.
Meanwhile, Geelong Guild sprinter Max Franklin also celebrated gold with Victoria as part of the U20 Men’s 4x100m relay final.