KATIE LOOKS UP TO WORLD CUP CHALLENGE
IT has yet to be confirmed but rising Gold Coast race walker Katie Hayward should be on a fast plane to China for the World Cup teams challenge.
A clear victory in the 10,000m walk in Adelaide on Sunday should have the 17year-old updating her passport for the China trip, then another flight to Finland for the world junior championships after that.
The China team will not be confirmed until after the Australian titles in Sydney next month.
In near perfect conditions, Hayward ran against both boys and girls and, as usual, beat some of the males home.
She won the girls race by more than three minutes in 45min 57sec, not too far away from her personal best 10,000m time of 45min 51sec she set in Sydney in 2016.
“She’s now building up for the Australian titles next month which will be a qualifying event for the Finland world juniors,” coach Steve Langley said.
While Hayward has dreams of competing in future Commonwealth and Olympic Games, she has given up the idea of trying for her hometown Games in April. One of the main reasons is that the Games distance is 20km and she is not yet ready for that distance, Langley said.
Hayward, meanwhile, is just starting a degree in occupational therapy at Griffith University after completing Year 12 at St Andrews College in Tallebudgera.