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A terrific summer of sub-49 minute 10km race walking performances from Allanna Peart has put her on two Australian junior teams in 2022. In March she made her Australian debut at the World Race Walking Team Championships, placing 13th individually in the 10km Road Walk and winning silver with her Australian teammates. In late March she was second on the track in the Australia U20 10,000m Walk Championships to secure he place for a second National team for the World U20 Championships in Cali, Columbia. + + + Growing up Alanna Peart had two of the best role models to follow into athletics, her cousins and Olympians Jared and Rachel Tallent. “I began race walking when I was 7-years-old, and was greatly influenced by my older cousins who I would watch training and competing in the sport frequently.” Alanna’s older sister decided to try race walking at Ballarat and Alanna followed shortly after and loved it. After racing over 3000m and 5000m distances in her teens, over the last two years she has regularly clocked sub-50 minute times for 10,000m walk on the track or 10km Walk on the road – a standard which qualifiers her for the World U20 championships and World Race Walking Team Championships. She achieved a breakthrough time of 48:04 in March 2021 to win the Oceania Championships race and was also selected in the Australian junior team that did not travel due to COVID. Then in January 2022 she clocked a track PB of 48:18.9 ahead of placing second in the trials for the World Race Walking Team Championships in March.
In her Australian debut at the World Race Walking Team Championships Alanna endured the heat of Muscat in Oman to place 13th in the 10km walk junior race and help her Australian team to a magnificent silver in the teams event. The silver medal was the highest ever place by an Australian team in this event and three Aussies in the top-15 was the best ever results by Australia in any age or event at these championships
Upon return to Australian in March at the National Championships she placed second in the U20 10,000m walk, booking her place in the Australian team for the World U20 Championships in August. Her time of 48:37.45 maintained her consisted sub-49 minutes form.
Her debut is two years after she had expected to first wear the green and gold. COVID has been tough for her. “The biggest challenges I have faced include the Covid-19 pandemic cancelling most events for the 2020 and 2021 season. This was a very difficult time as I was in great competition form, and had been putting in my best at training for months and months in the lead up to some of the competitions for them to only be cancelled days before. Also during this time I had also qualified for my first Australian teams including the World Teams Race Walking Cup 2020 and World Under 20 Championships in 2021, which unfortunately couldn’t take place due to the pandemic. However this challenge taught me great resilience, and to embrace every opportunity I have to compete.”
Alanna is a first year Bachelor of Commerce student at Deakin University.
@1 July 2022 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au
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