WOW! By Ellie Beer

At 16 years of age, Ellie Beer was the youngest Australian ever to compete at a track and field world championships.

She is on track this weekend at the Sydney Track Classic, competing in the women's 400m. This is her recollection from the 2019 World Athletics Championships. 

By Ellie Beer

One word to describe my experience at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar would be ‘WOW’! From the minute Christian called me, I was overloaded with excitement. After traveling to Japan for the 2019 IAAF World Relay Championships, it inspired me to keep on running.  My coach Brett Robinson, the Viking Athletics crew and Athletics Australia made that dream come true and I couldn’t be more thankful.

Before heading to Doha, half of the team headed to Cairns for a training camp before worlds, to get to know each other and acclimatise to the heat!  During my time there, I learnt so many new tactics both on and off the track; such as baton changes, the importance of massage (thanks Ally, Harley and Todd) and trying out new fuelling techniques.  A big thanks to the nutritionist, Jess. The amount of support given to us was amazing and the destination couldn’t have been better, thanks!

I was lucky enough to room with Katie Hayward in Cairns, she made me feel welcome and helped me get on top of my assignments, as I was missing a week of school, whoops.  Whilst we were laughing, we could also hear through the wall the amazing singing of Rebecca Bennett, along with Bendere Oboya’s laughter, both were my teammates in the 4x400m relay.   My training partner, Murray Goodwin, was also selected for the 4x400m men’s relay.  Murray kept me on my feet and taught me a lot, which I appreciate.

Before I knew it, we were packed and on our way to Doha! I used the 15-hour flight wisely, catching up on movies and the odd assignment.

When I stepped foot outside in Doha, the hot weather shocked me. It was nice for a second, but then I needed some air con asap! As we hopped onto the bus and made our short trip to the hotel, I felt jetlagged, but the excitement was keeping me awake. 

Despite the heat, Doha was one of the best trips I have ever been on. Our race wasn’t until the end of the program, so we had a chance to watch and cheer on the other athletes for the first couple of nights. Some of the highlights included Katie and I getting some selfies with Yohan Blake and Justin Gatlin.  We also met Allyson Felix at the training track. Some other highlights included watching Kelsey Barber winning the gold in the javelin and Bendere Oboya getting an Olympic qualifier in the women’s 400m. 

After relaxing in the rooftop pool, experiencing the best food buffet ever (thank you Jess), training in the hot conditions and watching everyone perform, it was race day. I was feeling amazing and excited to run, eager to get out onto the track and race my idols!  Due to the heat, the indoor track was used to warmup. It was my first time running on an indoor track, it was quite different. Before I knew it, we were in the call room, ready to run. The Jamaican, Polish and French teams were right there, next to me, WOW! I wished Lauren Boden, Bendere and Rebecca the best of luck!  I’m going to say it again, WOW! As I ran out onto the main track, I was nervous yet buzzing from the cheering of the crowd and the atmosphere.

The race couldn’t have gone any better, Bec and I both ran PBs, no dropped batons and our team ran a season’s best. We just missing out on the final, but we placed 10th overall in the world!  Just as we were about to head back inside, Loz stopped Bec and I, and told us to look out to the crowd. This is when everything really sunk in, the opportunity to run for my country is something I will cherish forever. As we walked inside to grab our stuff, the number of media, people cheering and asking for photos was very different to home. We stopped mid-way and watched the boys 4x400m relay progress and they all ran amazing, despite the nudges.  When we saw our coach Ben Offereins, he couldn’t have been more excited. We ate lots of sweets when we got back to the hotel, celebrating our achievement! 

To cap off my amazing Doha experience, over the final few days we went camel riding, sandboarding with Christian Coleman (currently the fastest man on the planet!) and four-wheel driving on the sand dunes (thanks Muhammad). A great way to end an amazing trip.   The screaming of Sara Klein, Bendere and Bec will always be a fantastic memory.

I would like to say a massive thank you again for the amazing amount of support of Athletics Australia for taking on a 16-year old me and making my dreams come true, along with coach Ben Offereins and team mates Caitlin Sargent-Jones, Lauren Boden, Bendere Oboya, Bella O’Grady and Rebecca Bennett for making my first worlds amazing. Would love to say a massive congratulations to all that made the team. Our team captains, Steve Solomon and Genevieve Gregson couldn’t have done a better job, along with the physiotherapists, nutritionists, doctors, managers, coaches, sports psychologists and media staff (massive thank you to you all). I would like to mention my coaches Brett Robinson, Sam Dick, Josh Carter, Nicole Gusman and the whole Viking Athletics crew for getting me where I am today. Finally, my parents, Megan and Greg Beer for being my personal uber drivers and my biggest supporters. 

Thank you, wearing the green and gold was an absolute privilege.