It is an achievement as rare as it is wonderful.
Shire athletes Jessica Thornton, Luisa Healey and Kyla King have qualified for the IAAF World Under-20s Championships to be held in Bydgoszcz, Poland in July.
The trio are all members of the Illawong Athletics Club where they train under the watchful eyes of coaches John and Michael Dooley.
Healey, 17, and 18-year-old King will be teammates in the 4x100 metres relay team while Thornton will compete in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
Healey, from Woronora Heights and King qualified for the world championships after starring at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Perth last month.
Australia will send 23 female athletes to compete in Poland.
John Dooley said it was a remarkable achievement for three athletes from the same club to represent at the championships.
“Look it’s very satisfying,” he said.
“Obviously [because of] the commitment and dedication they put in.
“They’ve had their injuries and setbacks in the last couple of seasons.
“So to come back from where they’ve been and to make it it’s a great reward for them and satisfying for me.”
It promises to be a big year for 18-year-old Thornton, who will also be part of Australia’s 4x400m relay team at the Rio Olympics in August.
Thornton qualified for her first Olympics at the Australian Athletics Championships in Sydney earlier this month where, as the youngest runner in the 400m women’s final, she finished second to Victorian Morgan Mitchell by less than a second – despite Mitchell being four years her senior.
Thornton said it would be a busy period but one they would relish.
“I’ll be happy when it comes around, there’s still a lot of hard work between now and then,” she said.
“We all train five or six times a week so it’s pretty intense.
"But it’ll be worth it in the end.”
Thornton, who represented Australia at the Youth Olympic Games in China in 2014, said her goal for the junior world championships and Olympics would be the same.
“Usually for me [the goal] is just to make the team and then anything after that is a bonus,” she said.
“So as long as I do my best [and] obviously try and get a [personal best time].
“And then if I make the final it’s another bonus.”
The Australian team leave for the junior world championships in late June where they will begin preparations in Germany before making their way to Poland.