MUM SET TO SHINE
Brooke Williams is up for challenge
As the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham draw ever closer, the goal is clear for Barooga’s Brooke Williams.
Williams, a 5000m runner, will be racing in the Australian Track and Field Championships on Saturday night, and is looking to book herself a ticket in the green and gold team on the plane to Birmingham.
It has been an incredible journey to get to this point for the Barooga mum, with Williams going from someone who was told they would never run again, to someone knocking on the door of a Commonwealth Games debut.
“I feel like I’ve been given a second chance so to tow that line it will just be really special,” Williams said.
“I think I’ve always had this burning desire, the greatest honour is representing your country and no matter what throughout all different phases of my life, through heart rehab and pregnancy and everything I just can’t get rid of this burning desire.”
Williams did not run competitively for three years following a diagnosis of Cardiomyopathy, but she came back in style by picking up a silver medal at the Victorian State Championships in December last year.
“I think when I found out about my heart and was told I would probably never run again that was like the biggest regret I was like ‘oh my god, I had so much potential but I just couldn’t get it together’, I couldn’t pair my talent with commitment and discipline,” she said.
“When I was told I would never do it again and then I got the chance to do it again I was like ‘okay I just have to do it’, I was just like ‘you know what, I don’t care what it takes, I don’t care what I risk, I’m just going to give this a really good crack’.”
Williams has received some good support from the Barooga community, including the football club, with the Hawks painting athletic track lines on the football field in order to help her access training.
“Being in the country I feel like I can just get the work done without any distractions, it sort of feels like I’m on a training camp when I’m in Barooga,” she said
“It is all about the hard work and putting it in and then when I go to races it’s really fun and enjoyable because I’ve put in the hard work and can now showcase it and enjoy being at that level.”
That hard work is what will leave Williams in good stead for Saturday’s race, with preparation for Saturday including training under the guidance of coach Steve Moneghetti and participating in Shepparton Park Run to improve her running.
“I just sort of told the people who organised it (Park Run) what I’m trying to do and that’s been so good for me, I feel like sometimes distance running is not popular but every time I go to the Park Run it’s nice because everyone knows the pain of a 5km,” she said.
Williams will be up against some tricky competition in Saturday’s race, with a strong field, including fulltime athletes from the United States, descending on Sydney for the event.
Doubling as a qualifier for both the World Championships and the Commonwealth games, all athletes will be striving for gold, however with some time left to secure a spot in the national team, Saturday night’s race it is not the be-all and end-all.
“There are different ways you can qualify (for the Commonwealth Games), the actual cut-off is June 12, so I can do races until then to try and qualify.”
It is sure to be an entertaining race on Saturday night, with Williams set to hit the track in the 5000m open Women final to be held at Sydney Olympic Park at 8.05pm.