Day on cusp of making Games
RISING star Riley Day stands on the verge of Commonwealth Games selection heading into the national track and field titles today.
Day, the winner of two gold medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas last year, can guarantee herself a start in a home Games with a strong showing in the 100m and 200m.
The 17-year-old burst on to the scene last year, running alongside Usain Bolt in the Nitro Series before snaring individual gold in the 200m in the Bahamas.
She also made her senior Australian debut at the world championships in London, finishing 36th overall in the 200m.
An incredibly grounded athlete, Day is keeping her feet on the ground and while she would love to compete at the Gold Coast Games, knows she has time on her side.
“I’m trying to stay in my age (group) as much as I can but for Commonwealths I’m definitely trying to be in that arena for either relays or individual events,” Day told the Bulletin.
“I’ll be happy with either or both.
“I’m only young and I’ve got, hopefully, a long career ahead of me.
“If I get (a Games spot), that will be massive but if I don’t, that’s OK too.”
The cream of Australia’s track and field talent will compete on our doorstep over the next four days vying for the final 87 places in the track and field team for the Games.
And while plenty of eyes will be on the likes of rising Tasmanian sprint star Jack Hale, 400m star Morgan Mitchell and distance runners Pat Tiernan and Eloise Wellings, Gold Coasters will also be in the thick of the action.
World champion Sally Pearson will be the centre of attention on Saturday night when the women’s 100m hurdles final is held.
But several other Gold Coasters can place themselves on the Games team with strong performances over the next four days.
While Day is the area’s rising star, the Tweed Coast can now claim ownership of world championship medallist Dani Stevens, who moved to the area with her surgeon husband last week after he was seconded to the area.
The defending Commonwealth Games discus champion, Stevens believes she is at her prime nearing 30 and is thrilled to have the chance to compete in front of a home crowd on the Gold Coast.
“A lot of athletes aren’t lucky enough to be able to experience that but I go into this national championships and hopefully the Gold Coast (knowing what that is like) because I was in Melbourne in 2006,” she said.
“That was my introduction to international competition, so I thought everything was going to be like that ... for me that was the benchmark that was set.
“That just cemented to me that I wanted to be able to throw discus as an international representative and I was capable of doing that.”