Sprinting to Success: Nine-Year-Old Dynamo Sets the Pace in Pursuit of Running Excellence

Since the beginning of February, Nelum Ganesalingam has been putting her best foot forward at the weekly FAST Kids training sessions with Canberra Sprint Coach, Steve Dodt. The 9-year old dynamo has shown great aptitude in learning the skills necessary for running excellence.

On the weekend Nelum competed in her first Capital Athletics State Championships. For a kid, who in August last year finished 15th at her first School Sport Regionals Carnival in the 70m, just competing in the State Championships was a phenomenal testament to Nelum’s growing confidence as a sprinter.

Nelum competed in the 70m, 100m, and 200m. Her competitors included the reigning ACT Primary Schools medalists and a host of others who made the finals at the School Championships in September last year.

With her fast twitch ignited from recent explosive starts training, Nelum lifted to a new level in all three events. Not only did Nelum perform better than she did at the School Championships, but she made the final in all three races, the only girl in her age group who managed that accomplishment, finishing 7th, 5th, and 6th respectively.

Nelum’s 70m time however really stood out, with the youngster running half a second faster (12.03s vs 12.53s) than she did in August last year. The only girl again in her age group to record such a significant improvement.

With 5 months until the next School Championships, all eyes will be on Nelum’s continued journey as she eyes greater performances and success with FAST Running.