Teen spirit driving duo towards Games glory on Coast
THEY will both still be teens but Riley Day and Ella Connolly don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines at next year’s Commonwealth Games.
The pair capped a strong weekend of running when they went head-to-head in the 200m at the Down Under meet on the Gold Coast yesterday, Day winning the final by almost half a second from her rival in 24.03 sec.
The effort, into a slight headwind, was only 0.63 sec outside the Athletics Australia B qualifier for the Commonwealth Games – a mark Day has already dipped under – and came a day after she finished second to Papua New Guinea Olympian Toea Wisil in the women’s 100m.
A 400m specialist, Connolly was stepping down in distance to meet Day and was happy with her efforts.
The pair are members of a 23-member Australian team for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau, Bahamas, later this month, where they will attempt to take the next step on their journey to the Gold Coast Games.
Day has had a whirlwind past 12 months, going from promising age group champi4x100m on to Usain Bolt’s rival at the Nitro athletics series.
And while she’d love to be a part of the action on the Gold Coast next April, the Beaudesert sprinter is not getting ahead of herself.
Already a member of the squad, Day is aiming for an individual sprint berth.
“I’ve got a B qualifier in the 200m, so this year I hope to get an A or a B for the 100m,” she said.
“If I get it, that’s a huge bonus. I’m only young and I’ve got hopefully a long career ahead of me. If I get it, I get it and it will be massive. But if I don’t, that’s OK too.”
Connolly, part of the 4x400m relay squad for the Gold Coast Games, is also aiming for an individual spot.
“It would be my absolute dream, especially on home soil,” Connolly said.
“It would be an awesome opportunity, so it’s definitely a goal I’m working towards. Hopefully if everything goes well, I do the right things and I stay training, I can get there.”
In other events yesterday, former world discus champion Dani Stevens came up with a series of 60m-plus throws to hone her preparations for next month’s world titles.
In her final event before leaving for London, Stevens notched a best of 64.35m to win ahead of Bundaberg’s world championship hopeful Taryn Gollshewsky.
Australian rep Matthew Denny won the men’s discus with a best throw of 59.21m.