Pashley electrifies at World Cross Country Champs

Surf Coast athlete, Aireys Inlet resident and Olympic marathon athlete Ellie Pashley wowed at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, less than eight months postpartum.

Pashley (35:38) led the senior Australian women’s cohort over 10km, registering a 19th place overall, and finishing first among her fellow Aussie runners, at yesterday’s (Saturday, February 18) Bathurst event.

Pashley gave birth to daughter Tiggy in the middle of last year.

 “I just scraped into the Australian team at the last minute, so I would have been happy with top 30 or 40,” Pashley said post-race.

 “The support on the course was insane.

 “I have run the New York Marathon before but this equalled that, it was really special to hear your name and ‘go Aussie’ on the course – it made all the difference.”

The senior women’s runners finished in combined fourth place behind East African powerhouses Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, racing as a team to bring about a strong joint result on home soil.

Despite Pashley’s brilliance, Australia’s resurgent depth in the distance ranks was on full display, following strong efforts from fellow Aussies Leanne Pompeani (22nd), Rose Davies (23rd), Caitlin Adams (28th), Isobel Batt-Doyle (29th) and Georgia Hansen (44th).

The day started with scorching temperatures and ended in a thunderstorm at Mount Panorama, providing a true test for distance stars from around the globe.

Australia’s Mixed 4x2km Relay team provided the best result of the event, racing into Australian athletics history with a bronze medal at the World Championships.

The highly anticipated quartet of Oliver Hoare, Jessica Hull, Stewart McSweyn and Abbey Caldwell delivered under immense pressure, as the world’s best runners battled both the terrain and conditions in an instant classic in New South Wales and cementing Australia’s status as a heavyweight nation of the distance running world.