Ivy Boothroyd is a little girl with a big heart.
And she’s going places. Fast.
Ivy returned from the Pacific School Games in Adelaide earlier this month with two hat-tricks – three gold medals and three games records.
The middle distance runner from Grays Point won the 800 metres and 1500m and was also part of the successful NSW under-10s girls sprint medley relay team.
Ivy’s success started in the 1500m, a straight final, held on the first day of competition at the SA Athletics Stadium.
The Grays Point Public School student led for the first lap and a half before Queensland’s Kyah Anderson took the lead. Kyah put more than 50m on Ivy before Ivy launched her comeback with 200m to go. Ivy’s late burst saw her catch Kyah right on the finish line to win in 4 minutes, 56.36 seconds – just four tenths of a second ahead of Kyah.
If that win was improbable, the best was yet to come.
Ivy went into the 800m final as the top seed after winning her preliminary in the fastest time – a 2.28.76 – edging out Victoria’s Declyn Tanner by four one hundredths of a second.
A fast opening lap in the final wouldn’t intimidate Ivy who stuck to coach Jacinta Doyle’s advice of running at her own pace. Just as she did in the 1500m final, Ivy turned on the afterburners with 200m to go.
This time she pipped Declyn (2.24.82) and fellow NSW representative Sarah Baker (2.24.62) on the line to win in 2.24.42 – by just two tenths of a second.
But Ivy wasn’t done.
Later in the day she anchored the NSW under-10s girls sprint medley relay team. Teammates Shari Hurdman, Amelie Trope and Evie Clarkson ran the 100m and two 200m legs before Ivy ran the final 300m leg as NSW won by almost three seconds from Victoria.
Not a bad week’s work for a little girl who only took up running a little over a year ago when she joined Sutherland Little Athletics Club.
“It was really fun. Just racing and competing at nationals,” Ivy said.
“I want to make it to nationals again in Melbourne next year.”
Ivy’s dad, Craig, said despite her being only 10-years-old Ivy had shown great maturity and heart, knowing how to pace herself and refusing to quit.
“It was awesome,” he said.
“They were special moments that may never happen again. The manner in which she won the events was emotional. She’s got a big ticker. She’s got intuitive timing through a race as well.”
Ivy, also a promising football player with Grays Point, has also shown ability in some longer form running, finishing eighth at the School Sports Australia national cross country championships in Hobart in July.
