Favourite wins golden run
London Olympian Eloise Wellings is setting set her sights on the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after a golden run at Australia's richest mile race in Leonora yesterday.
The 32-year-old from Sydney pocketed $6000 and a gold ingot for her victory in the Elite Mile event, joining fellow London Olympians Zoe Buckman and Kaila McKnight as former winners in the outback town.
In her first appearance at the Leonora Golden Gift, which draws athletes from across Australia, Wellings was the clear favourite in the women's field which also featured national cross-country champion Courtney Powell.
Wellings settled behind early pacesetter Powell for the first lap before breaking clear to run out on her own, clocking 4:53:83.
Isabelle Scott (4:58:81) and Powell (5:02:33) rounded out the podium.
Esperance teenager Jessie Eltringham (5:18:99) was the surprise packet after finishing sixth alongside some of Australia's future long-distance stars.
Wellings said her next priority is the World Athletics Championships in Beijing in August, where she intends to contest the 5000m.
But her ultimate goal remains Rio.
"I went to London and was excited to make the team, but to be honest I was a bit dissatisfied with my performance there and I'd really like to make up for that in Rio and get the best out of myself on the Olympic stage," she said.
"London was my first Olympics but I tried for three beforehand.
"I was measured for the Olympic uniform three times before London and I finally made the team.
"It was a big deal and it was quite emotional, which is probably one of the reasons I didn't perform at my best.
"In Rio I will be a bit more businesslike and much more mature for the experience."
Wellings said the community had embraced the athletes for the 13th edition of the Golden Gift and one of her highlights was a visit to St Barbara's Gwalia operations, one of Australia's biggest underground gold mines.
She called the prize money "absolutely awesome" as most runners are competing off the track for limited funding from Athletics Australia.
"This kind of prize money sets me up for my Olympic campaign," she said.
"I spent a couple of years with my husband paying off my London campaign. These sorts of races help financially and give us the support we need leading into the Olympics."
Victorian Zac Patterson was the men's Elite Mile champion in a much closer race.
