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No small feat by Keely in Canberra

Published Thu 16 Mar 2017

Keely Small (ACT) stood on the start line at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix in Canberra before the women’s 800m as a 15-year-old wanting to be in a good position on the last bend to have a crack, what followed shocked everyone.

The 15-year-old cruised past her experienced competitors, which included 400m Olympian Anneliese Rubie (NSW), down the home straight of the AIS Track and Field Centre to record a whopping three-second personal best and with it, a new Australian under 18 record.

Her winning time of 2:01.46 puts Small in elite company with runners who have run similarly fast before their 16th birthday and took a quarter of a second off Georgie Clarke’s record set as a 16-year-old in 2000.

Never has a female run faster over 800m at that age, including 1500m and 3000m world championships gold medallist Mary Decker from the United States and 2008 Olympic 1500m champion Nancy Langat.

Now coached by AIS senior physiologist Philo Saunders along with long-time mentor Paul Torley the teenager from Canberra is already a dedicated runner that is desperate to compete to the best of her ability and represent Australia.

“Well I had a really long talk with my coach in the lead-up to the race,” Small said.

“We knew it was a strong field and the conditions would be good so the plan was to be up with the leaders on the first lap and then to hang on and trust my training.

“My goal was to run another Commonwealth Youth Games qualifier (2:08.20), I wasn’t even thinking of getting a place.”

Last year Small had dipped under 2:10 just once in five races, but in 2017 she is now the fastest ranked woman over the half-mile distance under the age of 18 in the world.

That run at Canberra now makes Small the second fastest ever Australian woman under 20 over 800m, missing the senior IAAF World Championships qualifying mark by less than half a second.

“At the start I just wanted to hold my inside position as I was starting in lane two, I decided to pull in behind Lora (Storey) as the pace seemed to be pretty fast early,” Small explained.

“I managed to keep the same distance behind the two leaders and I knew that if I was close enough at the 200 mark I could give this a really good crack, so I just tried to hang on.

“At the last 150 I was beginning to catch the leaders and when I got into the straight I moved out into lane three and went as hard as I could.

“The race felt really good and it all seemed to go my way, it was such a good feeling to come away with the win and another PB.”

At a young age Small started swimming competitively but turned to Little Athletics not long after competing at the national level in the pool as a 10-year-old, and since then she has blossomed on the track.

Currently her mileage sits at about 60-70km a week as she balances Year 10 schoolwork at St Clare’s College with the training that has led Small to be already ranked 20th in Australia all-time over 800m.

“Keely is amazing to watch at training and always gives her best effort every time,” Saunders said.

“She has transitioned in to training with elite male middle distance runners and I think having guys to drag her along in training has helped her progression this year.

“We are definitely still developing Keely at the age of 15 and although she trains hard she is not anywhere near the full load that she will achieve during her career and is at a good training load for someone her age.”

Small’s training group includes Paralympic bronze medallist and T46 1500m and 5000m world record holder Michael Roeger, Joshua Torley, Sam Harding and Avish Sharma.

The avid athletics fan looks up to Australian 3000m steeplechase record holder Genevieve LaCaze (Vic) and four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah, and according to Saunders is a very coachable athlete.

“I said to her that I wouldn’t be surprised if she ran 2:01-2:02 and won the race,” Saunders explained.

“She ran a 400m at ACT interclub and ran 54.97 so I knew the speed was there and with her 1500m fitness I thought she was ready to pop a really big 800m PB out.

“The big goal for this year was to represent Australia at the under 18 Commonwealth Youth Championships in the Bahamas and that hasn’t changed.

“Keely will look to win both 800m and 1500m events at this championship if selected.

“Next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast will become a bit of a focus after her recent performance and in preparation for this Keely will probably also run the open 800m at nationals this year in addition to the under 18 event to get some experience before next year.

“That is about as far ahead as we are planning as the main goal is just to keep training consistently and keep improving.

“At the moment Keely’s best event is the 800m and we will be specifically training for this, although I think she will also be a great 1500m runner in the years to come,” Saunders added.

“Keely is a very exciting talent and hopefully this run is just the start of an amazing career.”

At the moment, there is no pressure to win anything at any level, for Small it is about embracing the competition and challenging herself every day to do her best.

“I’m an athlete that is fully committed to my training and determined to get the best out of myself – I love the training and competition even though I’m nervous before every race,” she said.

“Like all athletes there is always a goal to compete at the Commonwealth Games, world championships and Olympics, I would love that.

“There is a long way to go before that so I’m just going to continue to work hard at training and try to concentrate on some school work too.”