VILLAGE PUMP
The Samford Progress Association’s free community newspaper printed continuously since 1977.
The
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“Your Community Newspaper, owned by the Samford Community and produced for the benefit of the Samford Community.” 25 NOVEMBER, 2022 P: 0477 663 696
E: editor@villagepump.org.au NEXT DEADLINE THURSDAY 01/12/2022
MOUNTAIN RUNNER SUMMITS WORLD CHAMPS Local athlete Elena Stephenson has reached a new sporting peak at the age of 21, recently representing Australia at the World Mountain Running Championships in Chang Mai, Thailand. Competing in two events, Elena was the second Australian to finish the 8.5km up event, and the first Australian to finish the 10.7km signature up/down event, where she also placed 29th in the world. “During the 8.5km event I experienced the full effects of the humidity and the heights in the hills with an elevation gain of 1065m, basically stumbling over the finish line,” Elena said. “However this was an asset as I had one day to recover and fuel my body more correctly in preparation for the main event, and I am very fortunate that this was successful and I was able to compete to my full ability.” While the elevation is challenging enough, other aspects of mountain running make it an extremely tough discipline. “Going up takes grit and determination and focus and coming down takes skill and ability to be fearless. If you fall you need to get up as fast as possible,” Elena said. “I fell in Chang Mai and as I had just overtaken four runners, I had to get up so quickly to retain my position. As a junior I competed in Argentina 2019 in the World Championships and raced with a splint
as I had just torn my ligament. I fell in a river rapid freezing from the snow melting, was pulled up by officials and I got up to complete the race. That’s mountain running.” A former Samford Stingrays competitive swimmer, Elena turned her attention to running after falling ill with glandular fever which required time away from the pool.
Tanya Hall Photo: WMTRC2021,Thailand.
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“Purely as fitness I went for a run with my mum, initially not enjoying it at all, but over time I wanted to know, how did these runners run these long distances, so I challenged myself and continued,” Elena said. Elena’s recent successes include first place at the GC 30 and two second places in the Australian Mountain running Championships in the ACT. She has her eyes set on next year’s world championships in the Austrian Alps. While Elena has achieved incredible things on her own two feet, she remains grateful for the backing she has received along the way. Professional support has been received from Steve Manning from Intraining and Aaron Knight from ITRA, but she is also cheered on from those who know her best. “I am fortunate to have a very supportive family that accompany me to events throughout Australia and even to Thailand and Argentina. My parents have always been heavily involved in sport and fitness and one of my sisters is part of the future Matildas program, so I see competition as normal and positive.”
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