Push for Power | Milat to capitalise on Lima launch pad

A rangy sprinter with nothing to lose and everything to prove, Jess Milat is in many ways what the World Under 20 Championships are about. The spotlight inevitably shines on those ready in the now, but a glimmer is reserved for the unfinished athletes with more potential than credentials.

What could be mistaken for criticism is a testament to her talent and patience. While many view the World Athletics Under 20 Championships as the finish line of decorated junior careers, Milat’s outlook is more resemblant of the starting blocks to the Open ranks.

“I’m pretty new to the High Performance environment, obviously I have been doing athletics since I was a kid but it was always just for fun. It feels like I have only just started properly since finishing school,” Milat says.

Set to represent Australia over 200m in Lima, Peru alongside Olympic semi-finalist and Diamond League winner Torrie Lewis, the 19-year-old approaches with little consideration from her rivals but confidence in her ability.

“In my head, I think I can make the final. I’m a bit cautious saying that because it’s not the end of the world if I don’t, but that would be my big goal,” Milat says.

“I definitely look at entry lists and results because I like to know what to expect, but not to the point where I feel intimidated. We have done time trials and I feel prepared, so I think I can run a personal best.”

That marker currently stands at the 23.26 she clocked at the age of 18 in 2023, but it is the manner in which Milat has set times, including her 11.37 personal best over 100m, that is the most promising.

Through a sheepish smile the teenager explains that getting out of the blocks with long limbs and levers is a task yet mastered, regularly conceding ground to rivals before opening her eye-catching stride to accelerate into contention.

“Push for power is my little thing that I have come up with. Sometimes I kind of just lope around the bend and my first 50 metres isn’t great because I’m quite tall. It’s something that we are working on,” Milat says.

“Ever since I was a kid, I have just loved the feeling of coming off the bend and hitting that top speed in the straight. It’s still probably what I love the most.”

Coached by Cathy Woodruff and training out of the Victorian Institute of Sport, Milat has dropped her personal best over 100m from 11.98 to 11.37 in two years, and her 200m time from 24.09 to 23.26 in one year – choosing to focus on the World Under 20 Championships instead of chasing points in a bid to qualify for the Olympic Games.

“The Olympics never really crossed my mind properly. It’s nice to see people not too far ahead of me take that next step and make it to Paris because it shows that the times can be competitive, but I feel like World Juniors is where I’m supposed to be,” Milat says.

Watching on as Milat hits the warm-up track in Lima, the pieces start to assemble. She is relaxed but focussed; independent but coachable. The oldest member on Australia’s team of 67 with a January 1 birthday in 2005, the 19-year-old is mature enough to reflect on both how far she has come and how far she has to go.

Ranked 16^th in the field of 56 for the Women’s 200m with the top eight to qualify for the final, and an integral member of Australia’s Women’s 4x100m outfit, Milat will have the country behind her as she races towards a breakthrough at her first major competition – with few supporters greater than her nine-year-old sister.

“She is the cutest, I find her really motivating. She’s just always supporting me and gets excited about everything,” Milat says.

Managing her elevated focus on athletics around a double degree in Public Health / Health Promotion and Commerce, and part time athletics coaching, Milat seems to have all the answers bar one burning question from many keen athletics eyes - the 400m:

“Everyone says that I should run the 400m. Maybe in five years, I would probably die doing the training.”

The 2024 World Athletics Under 20 Championships will be held in Lima, Peru from August 27-31, with Australian viewers able to tune in via World Athletics’ Inside Track platform.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 24/08/2024