The Team with a Dream | Caldwell and Co Eye World Title at Bathurst

At 21-years-old, Abbey Caldwell is enjoying life as a professional athlete. The humble operator makes no mention of her Commonwealth Games bronze medal or Australian 1500m title, but can’t help but smile when asked if Australia can win the Mixed 4x2km Relay at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst.

The rising talent delivered a big win over the star-studded field at Stromlo Forest in the Women’s 2km Trial, running a race reflective of her mindset. Where most saw an opportunity to be fast and fearless, Caldwell was patient and poised – the smooth-mover gliding to a World Championships berth in 5-minutes and 48-seconds.

“With the quality of the field, I didn’t have the expectation of getting a result – rather just running a competitive race. It wasn’t going to be a disappointment if I didn’t win,” Caldwell says.

“We have such good depth that whoever made our relay team was going to put Australia in a good position, but I couldn’t have asked for a better team to be a part of.”

As a 17-year-old, Caldwell was sent packing in the first round of the 1500m at the 2018 World Under 20 Championships in Finland – finishing 11^th in 4:24.65. That result is now a distant memory for the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist who has developed personal bests of 4:04.18 for 1500m and 1:59.31 for 800m - training under the guidance of Gavin Burren for a decade.

“I can purely put the progress down to my coach Gav being really patient in my training and not getting too excited or seeing how far we could push it as a junior. It left me room to be able develop and tap into new abilities each season as a senior athlete,” Caldwell says.

“Each year for us now is about testing the waters of higher levels of training and racing. There is a lot more to tap into and it’s just a matter of how much faster we can get.”

Caldwell now finds herself three weeks away from the once in a lifetime opportunity of a home World Athletics Cross Country Championships, where she will be joined by Stewart McSweyn and two other Australian middle-distance stars as they gun for a world title in the Mixed 4x2km Relay.

“I am so excited for the team side of it! It’s obviously an individual sport and as distance runners we don’t get a lot of relay opportunities on the track. To put on the Australian kit in a team environment and on home soil is really special,” Caldwell says.

“Can we win? One hundred per cent.”

The 21-year-old stamped her presence on the Australian middle-distance scene with silver in the 1500m at the 2021 National Championships before returning to clinch the title in 2022, qualifying but missing selection for both the Tokyo Olympics and Oregon World Championships.

Enduring a time characterised by uncertainty yet hope, Caldwell displayed the mental fortitude to complement her talent, returning to work to chase the pillars of her career – fun and improvement.

“I have surprised myself a lot. I am not really bothered by much anyway, but I learned to deal with things as they came and it made me more focussed on the track. It gave me a better direction in doing what I can control which very much became my mindset,” Caldwell says.

“Last year for me was about experience, I really wanted to get a feel for what it was like overseas. I think that’s why it worked out so well for me in the end because I had no expectation of where I should be or who I should be running with, there was no pressure sitting on my shoulders.”

The reigning national champion is giving increasing thought to athletics between university classes and coffees as she settles into life as a professional with Puma, remaining grounded through her training group.

“It has always been the track that I wanted to go down, but it does enlighten you as to life as an elite athlete. It has made me more hungry if anything, knowing that my full time job is something that I love and that I was already doing,” Caldwell says.

“It has very much humbled me. I rock up at training and I am just like any other athlete getting it done on that day, it keeps the training fun and I always look forward to going like any athlete should,” Caldwell says.

The 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships will take place in Bathurst on February 17-19, where Caldwell and 27 other Australian stars will race for glory. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 28/1/2023