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BIOGRAPHY |
What an amazing transition netballer Gabrielle Vincent has made in three years. Two years after taking up running during the pandemic and giving up netball, Gabrielle was National champion in athletics and one year later, the now 16-years-old, will step-up three ages and compete for Australia at the World Cross Country Championships in the under-20 event.
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Due to restrictions during the pandemic, many sports people turned to running and Gabrielle Vincent was a prime example.
“I started running at 14 years old. I just wanted to keep my fitness up for netball, during the 2020 lockdown in Melbourne,” said Gabrielle.
“The training helped me cope during this tough period. I followed a program from my coach and ran everything by myself. My fitness showed a steady improvement and I started to fall in love with running. I stopped playing netball, deciding I wanted to pursue athletics instead.”
Gabrielle quickly impressed and by the end of 2021, aged 15, she had run times of 2:12 (800m), 4:36 (1500m) and 9:54 (3000m).
By the end of the 2022 summer, she was now Australian under-17 800m champion and clocked a fantastic 1500m time of 4:25.
Late in 2022, her long-distance ability was clear, clocking 9:27 to place third in the Zatopek U20 3000m event. It gave her confident and a month later she placed third in the under-20 6km event at the Australian trial for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, securing automatic selection.
Gabrielle credit’s training at Mount Beauty under coach Keith Fearnley as helping build a strong base before the season.
Most memorable sporting achievement: winning the 2022 Australian U17 800 national title. ‘Coming into the race I was hoping to just scrape a medal, as I had a slower time than others in the race. The feeling of then crossing the line in first place in such a tight race was so exciting’…Most influential people in your career: My parents, because I couldn’t have achieved what I have without them and all their support…Advice to your young self?: Don’t be afraid of change…Hobbies: shopping and baking… Sporting ambition: To be competitive on the world stage…Occupation: Year 11 student Lauriston Girls’ School, Armadale VIC, Graduating in 2024…Biggest challenge you've faced: Balancing school and sport at a high level is a tough task. It’s demanding because of the time that distance running adds to your weekly schedule…Interesting fact: When she leaves for a run, her toy poodle Darcy cries…Best thing about competing: The challenge, because it allows me to push myself and always look for improvement to be the best I can.
@ 7 Feb 2023 David.Tarbotton@athletics.org.au