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BIOGRAPHY |
Leanne, who has only been in the sport for eight years, was on a pathway to playing football for the Matilda’s, before her current coach Des Procter, encouraged her to try cross country and running.
Canberra’s Leanne Pompeani capped a tremendous 12 months, winning the Zatopek 10/National title in December 2022, before earning an automatic place on her third Australian World Cross Country team for Bathurst 2023, after placing second at the trials in January on her home training track – Stromlo Forest Park.
In a gallant display of running, Leanne ran with the leaders in the open women’s 10,000m world cross country at Bathurst. But with the line just 30 metres away, Leanne in about 15th place, started to stagger and fell to the ground. She also drifted towards the right-side of the course. Without aiding her, the technical officials guided her through the finishing shut, which she reached in 22nd placed – about seven athletes had passed her in the last 20 metres of the race. She had been suffering from heat exhaustion and the Australian team physios brought her temperature down through cooling tubs.
Back on the track, in April and May she lower two PB to 15:19.40 (5000m) and 31:45.90 (10,000m) on a tour on America.
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Leanne Pompeani started her sporting journey in soccer when she was aged four. She was sufficiently talented to be in the ACT Academy of Sport soccer program.
“Soccer was my primary sport being on the pathway to W-league through ACTAS,” said Leanne. “Des Proctor was my PE teacher in high school and he had tried to convince me to join his running group, but my heart was set on soccer.”
In 2014, her Higher School Certificate year at Melrose High in Canberra, Leanne lost her ACTAS scholarship in soccer. It coincided with Des again raising running with her.
“Des reached out again, believing with some proper running training I have the potential to be competitive.”
She had immediate success, when in August 2014 she placed second in the Australian U20 Cross Country Championships. Next for her was the Australian team trial for the 2015 World XC where in February she placed fourth in the U20 race won by Jessica Hull. Selected for her international debut at the WXC in China in March, Leanne would place 47th – the first Aussie to cross the line in the junior race.
Mid-year she headed to division III American school Iowa Central Community College, located in Fort Dodge. She did have some success winning the National Junior College Cross Country Championships in 2015. In 2016 she ran indoors and outdoors setting may PBs including 35:03 (10,000m) and 16:30 (5000m) at the Drake Relays.
But after 18 months at the college she returned to Australia.
“Partly it was Iowa and probably I wasn’t in the right head space. The weather and my head..no I’m going home.” She recalled in the For The Kudos podcast.
She described it as “flat, windy and cornfields,” and the “Winter Brutal.”
“While you’re training and racing so much it’s tough physically but mentally.” But she did learn a lot about competing as she had only started in the sport two years prior.
“I didn’t think it was a loss coming home,” she said.
There was gradual progression in 2017 and 2018 and in 2019 she made the Australian senior team for the World Cross Country Championships where she placed an excellent 45th.
Also in 2019, she was showing a liking for the roads and mid-year won the Gold Coast 10km in a PB 33:00 and clocked 71:47 for the half-marathon. COVID hampered racing in 2020, but in 2021 she set PBs at every distance from 1500m to half-marathon, including a 9:06 3000m.
Leanne made significant progress in 2022 from 5000m to half-marathon. A 25 second PB at 5000m, now at 15:25 and a stunning 31:43 over 10km on the road, along with wins on the Gold Coast and at Burni. In August she won the City to Surf and closed the year with the National 10,000m and Zatopek crown in 32:20.35.
She described her year. “Consistency has probably been the biggest factor in what has made 2022 my best yet. I started 2022 off injured but from February I haven’t had too many interruptions - a few sicknesses and niggles but nothing that stopped me from running for too long.”
Memorable sport moment: My win at the most recent Zatopek 10 as there is nothing quite like winning a national championship. Also a memorable achievement was winning City2Surf in 2022…Most influential person in career: I couldn’t go past my coach. I would not even be running if it wasn’t for him. While they might not know it, Jess Stenson and Lisa Weightman are hugely influential and inspirational. They obviously have achieved so much but more because of the way they approach this sport and people in this sport…Hobbies: cooking…Ambitions: Paris Olympics and more Olympics after that. I also have big goals to break an Australian record one day in the 10k, half marathon or marathon…Occupation: manager of two Club Lime Gyms in Canberra…High School: Melrose…Education: Certificate 3 & 4 in fitness at CIT…Biggest challenge faced: Having two major injuries one after the other was a really difficult time. I was out for months with an ITB injury which resulted in surgery and then picked up a sacral stress fracture on my return to run from that (my own fault). I think most athletes can relate to being out with an injury and how mentally draining it can get… What do I like best about competing: I like having goals and something to work for - if I wasn’t a runner I would likely be trying to be competitive in another sport…Coach Des Procter: he achieved a similar transition to another sport from another Melrose High student Michael Matthews - World U23 Road Racing Cycling champion, who was a basketballer at school.
@ 1 June 2023 David.Tarbotton@athletics.org.au