ELLA HAS ALL THE RUNNING FOR WORLD CHAMPS
ELLA Connolly will be seven weeks older than Cathy Freeman was when Freeman made her international debut at the 1990 Commonwealth Games when the Deception Bay 17-year-old contests her 4x400m world championship relay heat.
Connolly and Beaudesert’s 200m representative Riley Day, both 17, will make their first international open appearances for Australia at this week in London.
Bundaberg discus thrower Taryn Gollshewsky, a 2014 Commonwealth Games finalist, has her preliminary round on Friday night in London’s Olympic Stadium.
To put the youthful achievements of Connolly and Day into some context, 2000 Olympic Games 400m champion Freeman was three weeks away from her 17th birthday when she competed for Australia at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Connolly turned 17 on July 13 and is three months younger than Day, who has her 200m heat run on Wednesday morning.
Connolly, who won the Queensland open 400m title, said she spoke to Freeman seven years ago when the star spoke at a conference her father Michael attended. Connolly, coached by Gary Patterson, said her next goal was to make Australia’s team for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
“It will be a very hard team to get into but to run in front of a home crowd would be amazing,’’ she said.