Picture’s still rosy for Thorn

COVID hasn’t been able to stop a young athlete who is determined to finish in the top two in the country when he heads to the National Athletics Championships next year.

Todd Thorn will pack his bags for Sydney in March after qualifying in three track and field events.

The Charters Towers 18year-old has spent hundreds of hours with coach Leslye Muller, finetuning the techniques that have allowed him to set personal bests in a year disrupted by COVID-19.

Earlier this month, Thorn competed at the Athletics North Queensland meet, and won gold in the under-20 men’s 100m and long jump.

He also claimed bronze in the men’s high jump, but a torn hamstring meant he was forced to pull out of the 200m.

This also meant the Year 12 student was unable to compete at his last Queensland All Schools Championships, in Brisbane on October 17 and 18.

Thorn said his performances at the meet — including a personal best time of 10.77s in the 100m, 7.30m in the long jump and 2.02m in the high jump — will get him through to the March competition.

“Due to COVID, the Australian National Athletics Championships were cancelled in March just five days before I was to fly to Sydney to compete and I had no club race comps either due to the restrictions,” Thorn said.

“We had to train in my coach’s backyard for quite some time, but we’re back at Columba on Monday afternoons and morning sessions are still at my coach’s house.”

With a few months to prepare, Thorn is looking forward to the next step in his athletics career.

“My next big goal is to represent my country, which will be possible if I place in the top two at the Australian Championships in Sydney next year and meet the qualifying standard to make me eligible for selection in the Australian team to compete at the under 20 World Junior Championships in Nairobi in June/july 2021, if they go ahead,” he said.