World Athletics Championships: Aussie teens Riley Day, Ella Connolly living dream together in London
RILEY Day and Ella Connolly have been constant teammates in junior squads since 2010. Now they bring that togetherness to their senior debuts against the world’s best.
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THEY are best friends who have known each other since they started racing in primary school and are now the babies of Australia’s track and field team.
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Riley Day and Ella Connolly are 17-year-old Queenslanders who are on the ride of a lifetime which has taken them both from The Bahamas to London in the space of a couple of weeks.
Their first race was at the national primary school championships in Bendigo in 2010. They were both 10 years old and after much discussion they think Day came second and Connolly third.
“Do you want to have a look at a picture from the race?” Riley says as she whips out her mobile phone.
The pair have been constant teammates in junior representative squads since and were together at the Commonwealth Youth Games in The Bahamas last month where Day won the 200m and finished second in the 100m, while Connolly finished second in the 400m.
That was supposed to be the end of the international adventure but then Connolly, who is from Caboolture, was informed that she wasn’t going home as she’d been selected in the senior 4x400m relay team for the world championships in London.
Day had actually returned home to Beaudesert for a day before she got the call from Athletics Australia to say she’d received a roll-down place in the 200m in London, based on her world ranking.
“I still can’t believe that I’m here,’’ she says.
“It’s so surreal. I said to Ella last time I saw her, I’ll be watching you on TV, go and get ‘em, run hard.
‘When my mum told me: “They want you to go to London”. I didn’t say anything for 10 minutes. I just couldn’t believe it but I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity like this, especially at 17, it’s amazing.
“I was definitely going to come, no matter what. Even if everyone said “No”. I was like: “Sorry. See ya.’’
Connolly travelled to Australia’s team camp at Tonbridge, outside of London, where she was looked after by the likes of Sally Pearson, who had been in a similar position many moons ago as the baby of the team.
“I came into the camp on the first day and I absolutely knew no one,’’ she said.
“But I’m lucky the Australian team are all so caring and lovely, especially the older athletes, who know what it’s like to be in that position, some of them. But to have your best friend here, what more can you ask.’
“Sally, Lauren Wells, Steve Solomon, they’ve all been in my position, being young, and I think they all did a relay as well when they were 17 so they had the experience of being there and doing that.
“They were all so lovely, they checked in with me every day, made sure I was okay, making friends. It’s just awesome for them to be at that level and still care about us young ones.’’
Day shot to national prominence earlier this year when she was one of the shining lights of the new Nitro Athletics Series where she raced against Usain Bolt in a mixed relay.
When informed that Jamaica were staying at the same hotel in London and that there was a possibility of a catch-up with her sparring partner, she shakes her head: “I think he hates me.”
Day and Bolt engaged in some friendly banter before the Nitro with the young Aussie not taking a backward step which says a bit about the sprinter many think will become a future star of the sport.
“That seemed to help me with learning not to take things as seriously,’’ she says about the Nitro experience.
“Before Nitro I used to get extremely nervous for everything. After that I’ve learned to calm down a little bit.
“From Usain, I got the vibe not to take things so serious, just have fun with it and do your best and that’s all you can really hope for and if you come away with a PB or a medal, that’s a bonus.’’
The attention she got afterwards was certainly eye-opening for the Year 12 student who admits her studies are on the back-burner at the moment.
“It was a bit crazy, going from little to no publicity to a two-three radio calls a day,’’ she said.
“It was different coming from a small town. The Beaudesert Times, that was the only publicity I got. Being on the news, that was one of my life goals, to be on TV.”
And her goal for her first world championships is a simple one.
“I’m just going to go there and run as fast as I can,” Day explains.
“I’m just going to go there and run it like a final because that’s what I feel like I’ll have to do. I’ll just be running, guns blazing.’’
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