Amelia Sherrard reflects on bumper six weeks of state and national competition

Jot down this name – Amelia Sherrard. Amelia who? The Moreton Bay College student has come from a netball background to be one of the track and field discovery athletes of the year. Learn more about her here.

Amelia Sherrard at the Australian All Schools track and field championships. Picture John Gass

Former netballer Amelia Sherrard is a self made athlete on the rise who in the last six weeks has snared six medals from six events across school state and national titles.

After swapping a netball for running spikes just three years ago, Sherrard can lay claim to being Queensland’s discovery athlete of the year after her booming recent performances.

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Most impressive was Sherrard’s brave run to hang onto second position in the 800m All Schools Australia championships when she ran a season best time of 2:13.21.

That time was not light years from the national record time (2:06.04), a particularly impressive time given her late start in middle distance running.

FAST FACTS, Sherrard’s six medals

Qld Representative School Sport

Gold medal: 17 years 800m

Gold medal: 17 years 1500m

All Schools Queensland

Gold medal: 17 years 800m

Gold medal: 17 years 1500m

All Schools Australia

Silver medal: 17 years 800m

Bronze medal: 17 years 1500m

So who is Amelia Sherrard? She is a bayside girl who attended Guardian Angels’ Wynnum Catholic Primary before going to secondary school at Lourdes Hills College.

Sherrard was encouraged into running after performing strongly at intra school cross country and thought

Amelia Sherrard started in the 800m at the Australian All Schools track and field championships in Brisbane. Picture John Gass

“I played netball my whole life, so I had a lot of fitness from that,’’ she said.

“I started training for running three years ago, doing two sessions a week and I just loved it.

“I just kept training at Lourdes Hill and then about halfway through 2022 I started to show progress and make the state championships.’’

Then she came under the coaching of renowned middle distance coach Brian Norton (On Track Club) and it was no coincidence Sherrard went from making championships to winning them.

In addition, she moved last year to Moreton Bay College which also contributed to her improvement.

And she will be helped further at MBC in Year 11 and Year 12 after a decision by elite coaches Andrew Iselin and Eric Brown to join the college from 2025 to help with its continued domination of the QGSSSA championships.

Both Iselin (Torrie Lewis, Caleb Law) and Brown (Ashley Moloney) have coached athletes to the Olympics this decade.

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Her six medals across the QRSS, All Schools Queensland and Australia championships in the last six weeks highlight her potential, including two personal best times at the All Schools Australian titles.

And Sherrard hopes she is just getting started.

Amelia Sherrard at the Australian All Schools track and field championships in Brisbane. . Picture John Gass

“I hope to potentially win a national championships over the next few years and potentially go to the Olympics,’’ she said.

Originally published as Amelia Sherrard reflects on bumper six weeks of state and national competition