By LIAM TWOMEY
WHETHER it is in the water, on her bike or with a lacrosse stick in her hand, good luck catching Hannah Walker. The Williamstown resident is on the way to reaching great heights in the sporting arena, the only question that remains is in which field.
As an 11-year-old, Walker competed in the Western Suburbs Triathlon Club’s first ever children’s event and hasn’t looked back since.
She has dominated her competitors for the past four years, recently earning selection in the Victorian Schools Team to compete in New South Wales.
With a background in endurance events, combining three disciplines into one race wasn’t a problem.
“The hardest thing to begin with was getting off the bike and going into a run,” she said.
“Your legs just feel really fatigued and really wobbly but you get used to that the more you race. It just gets easier as you go.
“Being an endurance athlete, triathlon was the perfect sport to go into as I already had two out of the three. It was a matter of learning to ride a bike properly in a racing format.”
While representing Victoria in one sport might be good enough for some young athletes, Walker wanted to raise the bar.
Two weeks after competing in New South Wales, she will fly to Perth with the Victorian Under-18 women’s lacrosse team.
With training sessions and competition’s dominating her week, the 15-year-old thrives on her busy schedule.
“It helps that lacrosse and triathlon are in different seasons. That works quite well so there isn’t much cross over at the moment,” she said.
“Sometimes I will have to jiggle my training sessions or something like that but for most of the time it works out to be alright.”
With aspirations to represent Australia in both sports, Walker has no plans to slow down in either field.
“I can’t pick between the two,” she said.
“I want to continue them both for as long as possible. I know there will be a time when I will have to pick one over the other. For the moment I am able to continue with both because they are different seasons.”
For her outstanding sporting achievements Walker has been named this month’s Don Deeble Rising Star nominee.
The award is run by the Sunshine Western Region Sports Club in conjunction with the Star News Group.
Hannah will receive $1000 donated by the Yarraville Club Cricket Club and other prizes to assist in his future sporting goals.
The Don Deeble Rising Star Award recognises young athletes in the western suburbs who have achieved outstanding results at a state and national level.
To nominate someone for the Don Deeble award, please contact starsport@starnewsgroup.com.au or call 9933 4800.
