PIRIE’S MISSION
BIG Q&A WITH SPORTS ICON LEAGUES CANNED
FROM Tokyo dreams of lane seven in an Olympic final to the reality of a clean-up in aisle three at the local supermarket.
Rising Queensland track star Riley Day has told of her disappointment at missing out on a first Olympic Games and how she plans to fill the void left by a virtual global shutdown caused by the coronavirus.
Day, who turns 20 on Monday, missed the final of the 200m sprint at the 2018 Commonwealth Games by an agonising .01 of a second and was building towards a career-best season before the postponement of July’s Olympics.
However, with her mum working as a hospital nurse, the sprinter from a small farming community outside Beaudesert understands full well that the pandemic transcends sport and is trying to remain upbeat.
“You do talk to some of the other athletes and there’s a lot of sadness there but everyone, not just in sport, has had something taken away from them at this time,” she said.
“We aren’t getting to go to the Olympics but there are people dying because of this.
“It’s definitely hard to stay motivated but at least we know it’s probably going to be at the same time next year so we still have something to be striving for.”
The Australian Track and Field Championships were due to have been this weekend, before the coronavirus pandemic cancelled sporting events across the world.
Barring disaster, Day would probably have qualified for the Olympics this weekend but that remains a hypothetical. While she’s still doing some light training to keep in shape – mainly by jogging around the family farm – she is also keeping busy by studying part-time for a business degree majoring in sports management as well as working at a supermarket in Beaudesert. P76-77
TWEED concede the closure of the QRL’s statewide leagues will cause “pain” but insist it was a call that had to be made.
Queensland league bosses yesterday cancelled the Intrust Super Cup, BHP Premiership, Hastings Deering Colts and Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup competitions for 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.