Nannup Raising the Bar | Australian All Schools Championships

A proud Noongar, Jaru and Yindjibarndi man, Lewy Nannup jumps at hurdles, bars and opportunities. Quick to name Cathy Freeman as his favourite athlete, the 17-year-old heads to the 2022 Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools Championships inspired by the Raise the Bar program in Perth.

The teenager’s versatility is set to shine in the unique double of the Under 18 High Jump and 110m Hurdles at the championships, with the West Australian conceding his quarter mile talents have been marred by lactic acid:

“The 400m is probably my best event but I just don’t like doing it, at all,” Nannup says.

If he was any more laid back, he would be horizontal. Nannup speaks casually about athletics but passionately about his culture, recently establishing a harmonious relationship between the two through  the Rio Tinto Raise the Bar program.

The program open to First Nations school students aged 16 – 18 is focussed on creating meaningful pathways by engaging students in education and career opportunities, leadership development, cultural connections, and team building – along with daily training sessions featuring some of Australia’s elite athletes and coaches.

“I got invited to go on the Raise the Bar athletics camp. We stayed at the university for a week and went on different tours, listening to some career talks and then we would go to the athletics track and train,” Nannup says.

“I came into the program knowing no one, there was only me and one other person from Perth. A lot of people flew down from Broome and other areas up north, it was good to build a few new friendships and connections.

“They really inspired me because they said I have the ability to be able to go pretty far in athletics, and that they can coach me after the camp. The support they gave us and seeing what they have done with records and medals, it has definitely inspired me.”

Guided by the expertise of Indigenous jumping duo Tay-Leiha and Tomysha Clark (Worimi), sprinter Kyle Ennis, and Olympic modern pentathlete Marina Carrier, Nannup has hatched a newfound ambition to take his athletics to the next level – beginning at the Australian All Schools Championships in Adelaide.

“For the hurdles, I want to make the national final. I just want to do my best in both events, but that national final in the hurdles is my big goal – whatever happens I’ll be happy if I do my best,” Nannup says.

“I enjoy building that competitiveness and doing all the events, mainly the sprinting and hurdles.”

The youngest of four with parents from Three Springs and Kalgoorlie, Nannup’s talents are not limited to athletics which he took up in Under 7’s – equally skilled in football, guitar, gaming and more recently the didgeridoo.

A Wesley College student, Nannup refined his craft on the didgeridoo and dancing as an active member part of the school’s culture program, the Moorditj Mob.

“The school brought in didgeridoo players to teach us how to play and do circular breathing, throughout the years I have learned from a guy called Steve Richter. This year and last year I have been the didge player for all the dancers,” Nannup says.

Along with playing the didgeridoo as part of the welcome to country ceremony for the last two Athletics West Little Athletics Championships, Nannup has impressed with personal bests of 1.87m in the high jump and times in the 14-second range in the 110m hurdles – punching his ticket to Adelaide off the back of his participation in the Raise the Bar program.

The 2022 Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools Championships, supported by South Australian Tourism Commission takes place from Friday, 9 December – Sunday, 11 December.

Tickets to the Australian All Schools Championships can be purchased HERE.

More information about Athletics Australia’s First Nations programs can be found HERE.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 01/02/2022