Despite sporting an injury, Brighton athlete Lacey Tilyard recently came fourth at this year’s Australian Junior Athletics Championships, held in Brisbane in April.

Because of the injury, Lacey was only able to compete in the 400 metre under 16 heat, where she came second. This allowed her to maintain a place in the final. When the final came, she was able to dig deep and push through to place fourth. It was an outstanding achievement given the difficult personal circumstances – it demonstrates her perseverance and determination.

Lacey shared that it was a disappointing situation to be in and mentally it took some working through to be able compete in the final. “The support, encouragement and belief in me from my teammates, my awesome coach Josh Mason and the Tasmanian officials was overwhelming,” Lacey said.

Lacey wishes to thank the following businesses and supporters who helped her to get to Brisbane: OnTrack Tasmania, Tea Tree Tractor Spares Brighton, Coles Bridgewater, Woolworths Bridgewater, Jeremy Rockcliff (Premier of Tasmania), Rebecca White (Opposition leader Labor Party), Brian Mitchell (Federal Member for Lyons), Mark Shelton (Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly), Jen Butler (Tasmanian Labor), John Tucker (Independent), Elise Archer (Attorney General Tasmania), Kellie Dodge of Old Beach, Peta Jelkic of New Norfolk and Eastern Suburbs Athletics.

Lacey has not let this deter her and is looking forward to continuing her athletics journey competing at the All Schools Championships at the end of the year.