NEW DAY LOOMS FOR OUR LATEST TRACK STAR
RILEY Day is a sprint starlet on P plates since her run-in with track king Usain Bolt enlivened her with something far more valuable than obsessing over technique or pressure.
“Having fun with it all is lost sometimes by sports people but that experience just told me how important it is,” Day said yesterday.
Pink nail polish and bright orange toenails suggest the smiling teen from Beaudesert is lapping up the lesson to the full in the Bahamas.
The track hopeful is a bluechip performer among the 75 young Aussie up-and-comers who have landed on the Caribbean island for the Youth Commonwealth Games.
Day was an unknown to all but athletics insiders until a memorable night in Melbourne last summer when Bolt appeared for the mixed 4 x 100m relay at the revolutionary Nitro Athletics meet that engaged more than 7000 fans.
It was Day, still 16, who was up against the eight-time Olympic gold medallist a night of extrovert expression.
“I’ve been asked about that race, that night with Usain Bolt, more times than I can count,” Day said.
“He was amazing, he congratulated me and I just tried to take in the experience.
“I’m someone who lives in the moment and definitely if there’s another moment with Nitro in Melbourne this summer I’d love to be there again.”