Teenager Bendere Oboya runs Tokyo Olympic qualifier but misses Cathy Freeman mark
From NewsLocal Junior Sport Star winner to the world stage. What a ride Athletics Australia young gun Bendere Oboya is on.
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She has been drawing comparisons to Cathy Freeman for years.
And now Bendere Oboya has the chance to perform in the Olympic arena just as Freeman did when she wowed the world at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Oboya sprinted towards a spot at the Tokyo Olympics with a stunning run in the semi-finals of the 400m at the world championship in Doha last week.
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The 19-year-old ran a PB which doubled a Tokyo Olympic qualifier in extreme heat and humidity.
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The former Pendle Hill High School student had hoped to snatch Freeman’s junior record but missed it with her 51.21secs PB in the heats.
Oboya then finished seventh in her 400m semi-final with in a time of 51.58 which would have seen her take third place in the following semi-final.
“In the back of my mind I was thinking, if I stay close to these girls I can maybe run a PB, and that worked,” said Oboya, who was born in Gambela, Ethiopia, and moved to Australia as a three-year-old with her parents and five siblings.
“Tokyo is ticked off, I can’t believe it. I’m really happy about that.”
Oboya’s time of 51.21 moved her to eighth on the Australian all-time list, above the likes of Morgan Mitchell and Nova Peris.
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The teenager however missed Freeman’s U/20 Australian record of 51.14sec which has stood since June 1992.
Oboya, who two years ago won the NewsLocal Junior Sport Star of the year, has had a big year on the track after also claiming her first national title in 2019.
But it was her impressive debut at the world championships with the Australian team which has turned heads in the international athletics world.
The young runner, who is on the comeback from a hamstring injury, made her senior international debut at last year’s Commonwealth Games.
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Her performance in Doha will see her make her Olympic debut in September next year.
Comparison between Oboya and Freeman, the star of the Sydney Olympics with her stunning 400m gold, were first made when the teenager won the Commonwealth Youth Games title in 2017 to become the second-fastest under-18 runner in the world.