St George junior runner Lauren Carey is making her mark in athletics after just returning from the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.
Carey, 15, from Riverwood, competes for St George Athletics in its Senior and Little Athletics clubs, and excels in the 3000m and 1500m, winning an Open State medal and placing at National All Schools.
In January she made her 6km debut in the Australian Cross Country Championships in Canberra.
These National Championships also doubled as the Selection Trial for the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.
Although competing with older runners in the Under 20 Junior Women division, Carey was part of a second pack and made a surge into 2nd place with 1km to go.
Affected by the altitude Carey stumbled several times in the last 150m but got to her feet and crawled to the finish line to take fifth and a spot in the Australian team.
The next week she won the 1500m/3000m double at Little Athletics Regionals, in regional and state record times.
In Denmark Carey toed the line with 111 other competitors on a purpose built course designed to put the challenge back into cross country. In only her 2nd 6km cross country race, she faced challenging descents, sweeping bends, and had to traverse sand, gravel, water and mud.
Carey competed in the Under 20 category, making her one of the younger competitors along with fellow NSW competitor Sarah Schiffman. Schiffman, the top Australian qualifier, lead out at the start.
In contrast, Carey was in 30th place after the first lap but moved through to 16th on lap two, maintaining her position to the end finishing in 22:02,her 16th the highest place by an Aussie for 10 years in this event.
After the finish,where her Australian team finished in 8th place Carey said she was happy with her first International effort.
"I'm so happy, it was the best feeling out there. So many people were supporting and if they didn't know who you were still calling out 'Go Australia, go Carey' reading your name on your bib."
Earlier this month at Sydney Olympic Park, Carey also won the open womens Greater Bank 5km Fun Run in 16.53 minutes at the 2019 Sydney 10 festival which was the highest participated Sydney10 event in Athletics NSW history.
Carey is coached by John Bowers and Gary Howard and she thanked her club and family for their support and encouragement .
The World Cross Country is held every two years and Australia will host an IAAF World Athletics Series event for the first time in 25 years, following the IAAF Council's decision to award the 2021 World Cross Country Championships to the NSW Gold Country town of Bathurst.
