Keely Small has been ruled out of the national athletics championships in Sydney this week and the focus for the young athlete is now on Tokyo 2020.
The Canberra teenager was recovering from shin soreness and was taking a conservative approach to rehabilitation, her manager, James Murch, said.
Keely Small, pictured, won't compete in this week's national athletics championships in Sydney due to shin soreness.Credit: AAP
Small, 17, ran a personal best time of 2 minutes81 in the women's 800 metres at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, which is 0.21 seconds off the qualifying time for the Doha world championships in September. In January, Small ran a time of 2:06:32.
The women's 800 metres qualification time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is 1:59:50.
The St Clare's College student won the women's 800 metres at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in October 2018, after carrying the Australian flag into the opening ceremony.
Small was the third Australian to win track and field gold in Youth Olympics history.