I’M RUNNING TO SAVE KIDS’ LIVES

She is running for more than Games gold.

Ever since she was little, everyone knew Eloise Wellings would be an Olympian. So when the track superstar qualified for the 2000 Olympics at just 16, she was tipped to win. But Eloise’s chance at gold was cut short when she suffered a stress fracture in the neck of her femur.

“I was devastated, absolutely distraught,” she says of that incredibly difficult time.

Eloise missed both the Athens and the Beijing Olympics too, also because of injury. As her dreams slipped from her grasp, she fell into a deep depression.

But it was the friendship she forged with dual Olympian Julius Achon – who grew up in poverty in a remote village in northern Uganda – in a sports rehabilitation centre, that changed Eloise’s mindset forever.

“He told me how he had to run 72km just to get to his district running carnival. And he talked about his mother who had been shot by rebels and lay bleeding for three days before she died,” she says.

Inspired by his bravery, Eloise and Julius started the charity Love Mercy, which helped find Australian sponsors for 11 orphans who were in Julius’ care as well as providing services for more than 20,000 Ugandans.

Now, it seems only fitting that Eloise, 35 – who is free from injury and finally able to compete in the Games – is running to make a difference.

“Uganda is my favourite place to run and I always imagine myself there,” says the longdistance runner.

“I feel it is my role and responsibility to use my sport to highlight what we have done in Uganda and what else we need to do.”