After struggling for personal bests in her teenage years, the Hawkesbury’s Jess Stafford has qualified to represent Australia in athletics at the World University Games in August.
The Sydney University student, who grew up in Blaxlands Ridge and Lower Portland, will compete in Taipei in August.
The secondary education student will be a ‘Uniroo’ and race in the womens 4x400-metre relay team.
To say Stafford is excited is a huge understatement.
“This is the biggest I have ever made so far. My dream has always been to represent Australia,” she said.
“I've had a passion for athletics since I was young.
“It was a massive shock to make this team but I am over the moon about it.”
Stafford’s 400-metre time at the Australian University Games last year earned her a spot on the team and she was thrilled to learn she had qualified.
The former Kurrajong-Bilpin Little Athletics Club member said for many years in her teens she struggled to improve her race times, and to now qualify for the games was a very rewarding feeling.
“I went through a four or five year period where I plateaued and the dream started slipping away a bit,” she said.
“But over the last season I have finally started getting personal bests again and improving.”
Stafford said she had always enjoyed the individual nature of athletics, but that individuality meant she had to figure out the solution to her performance woes on her own and it took time.
“I lacked self belief. The more I stopped improving, the more I started to doubt myself,” she said.
“Pressure was definitely part of it. With a lack of self belief I started getting in my own head a bit and when it came to races I was focused purely on getting times.
“I was too focused on the race outcome rather than the process.”
Stafford said she was now part of a great training squad at Sydney University, and it had had seen her self-belief return.
The former Colo High School captain said she took to athletics from an early age.
Her best distances were the longer races - 800-metres, 1500-metres and 3000-metres – but as she got older, the shorter 400-metres became her best distance.
“The goal was always to represent Australia and I can't explain how much I love it,” she said.
“Athletics is just my thing I guess. I get this feeling of accomplishment when I finish training sessions and I love pushing my body to its limits and I love testing myself.”
Stafford said she was looking forward to the games. The Australian team will be overseas for nearly two weeks.
Coles Little Athletics Australia acknowledges and pays respect to all traditional custodians of the lands of which we work, run, jump and throw throughout Australia. We pay respect to elders both past, present and emerging.
We are committed to a positive future for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to honor their ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to this country and recognize the role and value of culture.
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