Tokyo spirit drives Lynch to new heights

Tokyo spirit drives Lynch to new heights

Australia’s gold rush at the Tokyo Olympic Games inspired Mount Gambier’s own athletics star Emily Lynch to new heights last weekend.

Hours after watching the stars of today fly around the National Stadium in Tokyo, Lynch smashed the field at the Athletics SA Winter Walk State Championships.

The 13-year-old took it up to the big kids in the Under 16 age group and strolled away to win the 5km walk by more than a minute.

On top of the crushing win, Lynch more importantly slashed her 5km personal best time from 30 minutes to 28 minutes and 47 seconds.

Mount Gambier Little Athletics vice president Adrian lynch said the win was Emily’s reward for toiling hard on the training track over the winter.

“I think it is just from her winter training alongside senior and little athletes with coach Sally Taylor,” he said.

“Since we did nationals in April, she has just been training five days a week with a lot of fitness and strength training.

“Now the great thing is she put it all together on the day.

“I think she was a bit worried stepping up from the Under 14 age level to the Under 16 level and struggled to find her form initially because she had not done much walking training.

“Runner-up Daisy (Brathwaite) always takes off really quickly and she led for the first two kilometres.

“But Emily got into her rhythm after the first kilometre and made the pass around the 2km mark before pulling away.”

It is fair to say Emily Lynch may have been inspired by Australia’s amazing performance at the XXXII Olympiad where the green and gold collected three medals on the track.

The Lynch’s watched the action intently, while Australian Under 20 walking athlete Olivia Southby has provided the young Mount Gambier sports star with plenty of guidance.

After perfecting walking down to a fine art, Adrian said Emily now has her sights set on a new challenge.

“She loves walking, but she is also in the process of preparing for the steeplechase as well,” he said.

“She did it for the first time in Adelaide for her school and won the Open 1km race, so she enjoyed it.

“SAPSASA and SSSA do not offer walks because it is too technical, so that is why she will give the steeplechase a crack.”

Last weekend’s success caps off a dream season for Emily Lynch, who collected four wins across high-level events in Adelaide and Canberra across various distances.

Lynch now enjoys a break from the track until Mount Gambier Little Athletics kicks off again after the October school holidays.

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