NERVES OF STEEL
How our sprint prodigy overcame crippling anxiety to become a track star
AS a junior, Riley Day would get so nervous before a race she would lie in the foetal position and vomit.
Today, the Beaudesert track star will compete in the 200m heats in front of the world at the Commonwealth Games as a confident 18year-old ready to take on the best.
It’s a far cry from the youngster whose career nearly ended before it began due to the crippling pre-race anxiety that had mother Nikki Day ready to pull her out of the sport.
“She used to suffer really badly from nerves,” Nikki said.
“She would be vomiting and in the foetal position before she went on to the track from the age of 10.”
Nikki said it came to a head when her daughter was 12 and competing at nationals in Adelaide.
“We had to leave her in the prerace call room and she was saying she couldn’t do it,” she said.
“She hadn’t eaten for two days, was vomiting constantly and she was in the call room crying.”
Riley went on to win the 100m and 200m double but her mother was ready to call it quits.
“I nearly pulled her out because I couldn’t do it as a parent, I couldn’t watch her go through it again,” Nikki said.
Soon after, Riley won an award and the family used the money to take the talented teen to renowned sports psychologist Phil Jauncey.
“The psychologist said she had trained her brain to think she needed to feel like that (really nervous) before she competes,” Nikki said.
“Just one visit and she has been 100 per cent better ever since.”
Riley was three when her mum recognised her running potential.
“She used to run around the backyard with thongs on and catch her brother, who is two years older than her and fast himself,” Nikki said.
The budding sprinter dominated school events and had to race the male members at Beaudesert and Districts Little Athletics Club to get some competition. Riley’s biggest rival is Ella Connolly, 17, who will be in the stands cheering today.
The pair swapped positions on the podium at state and national level for several years before Connolly shifted to the 400m.
Riley still trains on the same grass tracks at Beaudesert where she built her speed, only stepping on to a tartan track once a week in the lead-up to the Games, where she will face Jamaican Olympic champion Elaine Thompson.
Donna Thomas, who has coached Riley through her entire career, said the grass track was a major reason why she had become so fast.
“It definitely makes you stronger, training on grass, and helps you avoid injury,” Thomas said.
“The tartan is quite hard to run on. Riley has always had it together and was always quite muscular, strong and determined.”
Day’s heat is at 12.34pm today.