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.<\/p>\n
Pashley (35:38) led the senior Australian women\u2019s cohort over 10km, registering a 19th place overall, and finishing first among her fellow Aussie runners, at yesterday\u2019s (Saturday, February 18) Bathurst event.<\/p>\n
Pashley gave birth to daughter Tiggy in the middle of last year.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI just scraped into the Australian team at the last minute, so I would have been happy with top 30 or 40,\u201d Pashley said post-race.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThe support on the course was insane.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI have run the New York Marathon before but this equalled that, it was really special to hear your name and \u2018go Aussie\u2019 on the course \u2013 it made all the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Despite Pashley\u2019s brilliance, Australia\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s Mixed 4x2km Relay team provided the best result of the event, racing into Australian athletics history with a bronze medal at the World Championships.<\/p>\n
The highly anticipated quartet of Oliver Hoare, Jessica Hull, Stewart McSweyn and Abbey Caldwell delivered under immense pressure, as the world\u2019s best runners battled both the terrain and conditions in an instant classic in New South Wales and cementing Australia\u2019s status as a heavyweight nation of the distance running world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s cohort over 10km, registering a 19th place overall, and finishing first among her fellow Aussie runners, at yesterday\u2019s (Saturday, February 18) Bathurst event. […]<\/p>\n