Teen sprint star Riley Day stays grounded

Teen sprint sensation Riley Day is staying level-headed after Nitro Athletics, deciding to stick with under-18 events at the upcoming Australian titles.

Australian athlete Riley Day

Teen sprint sensation Riley Day is staying level-headed after Nitro Athletics. (AAP)

A month after Nitro Athletics transformed her from country Queensland schoolgirl to overnight teen sprint sensation, Riley Day is still craving the insatiable high of her first big-time gig.

No matter how the 16-year-old tries, handing in year 12 assignments at Beaudesert State High School just doesn't compare to racing Usain Bolt in a nationally televised athletics meet.

"I think I've just come down from everything," Day said.

"I've gone back to school but I think I prefer the high life to the school life at the moment.

"Coming back from Nitro to go to school, I hit a wall every so often."

It's in those moments that Day makes a special effort to remember her astonishing performances in Melbourne last month, when she raced a mixed relay against eight-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt and left Jamaica's 2015 100m world championships finalist Natasha Morrison in her shadow.

She names the experience as her biggest source of motivation since starting Little Athletics as a nine-year-old.

And having had the chance to race established athletes without real competitive pressure, it's one she hopes doubles as the perfect springboard to a senior international career.

But Day's guileless spirit remains very much that of a teenage girl - one who left Monday's Australian championships launch bound for a Justin Bieber concert in Brisbane.

And though there's a long-term hankering to qualify for next year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, she's maintaining a level head and clear goals amid all the external excitement.

In that vein she's decided to stick with the junior events at the upcoming national titles in Sydney, where she'll contest the under-18 women's 100m, 200m and 4x100m for Queensland.

"I'll get to the opens when I'm up to it," Day said.

"I'm focusing on getting a PB for that and looking forward to trying to make the youth Commonwealth Games team."

With qualifying times for the 100m and 200m already in the bag for July's Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas, the aim is to win both events.

But if she's learnt one thing from Bolt, it's to keep the pressure light.

"He doesn't take everything so serious, but I know when he has to take it serious he will," Day said.

"So that's what I'm going to do. I'm just going to have fun with it all, take in the experience and just enjoy it."


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3 min read
Published 13 March 2017 8:02pm
Source: AAP


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