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FIEKE VAN DER KAMP AT THE CROSS COUNTRY SELECTION TRIALS
Published Mon 16 Jan 2023
FIEKE VAN DER KAMP IN THE MIX FOR WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 AUSTRALIAN CROSS COUNTRY SELECTION TRIALS
Fieke Van Der Kamp has finished in 6th position in the Athletics Australia Women Under 20 6km Cross Country Selection Trial held at Stromlo Forrest, ACT on Sunday 15th January 2023. This puts Fieke in with a chance of selection in the Australian Women Under 20 team to compete at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships to be held at Bathurst on Saturday 18 February 2023. Athletics Australia goes into the home World Cross Country Championships with a policy of “selecting full teams for all events aiming to achieve the highest finishing order for both teams and individuals”. The team size for each event is six.
There were 21 starters in the Women’s Under 20 6km Cross Country Selection race and 17 finishers with four DNF’s. In a hectic finish, nine of the field were separated by just a minute as they crossed the finish line. Fieke came in 4 seconds behind 5th place and only one second in front of 6th place, such was the desperation at the finish line. Fieke crossed the finish line at the end of 6km in 22:19.
Later in the day, Athletics Australia made the following announcement:
Six athletes of Australia’s most promising junior talent have also booked their tickets to Bathurst, with Logan Janetzki, Archie Noakes, Jack Coomber and Amy Bunnage, Gabrielle Schmidt and Gabrielle Vincent finishing in the top-three in the Men’s and Women’s U20 events. The remainder of Australia’s Senior and U20 teams, made up of discretionary selections, will be named in the following weeks.
2023 World Cross Country Championships
Mount Panorama, Bathurst, NSW
Saturday 18 February 2023 – 11:00am – 20:00pm
THE RACE – IN FIEKE’S WORDS
Sunday 15/01/2023
2023 Australian World Cross Country Selection Trials
Women Under 20 6km
(Note: Fieke lined up with a field of 20. Athletics Australia have been clear that there would be a team of six with those finishing in the top three guaranteed of a place and the Selection Committee to choose the rest of the team.)
“My goal was to not come last going into the race.
The gun went off and I was last. Surprise!
But, I wasn’t that far last. After about 500m or so, I think, I overtook a person or two and Gwyn said that once I came through after the 1km loop, I was in about 9th.
I was concentrating the whole time, and looking at those in front of me. I didn’t look at my watch once. I’m not sure exactly when, but with about maybe a km or so to go, someone on the side said to the person right behind me, who I think I’d just passed, that she was in 7th place.
So, I was like … crap, now I actually have a chance. How am I gonna beat at least one of these girls (there was one right behind and one some 10m in front.)?
I stayed reasonably comfortable – as in my legs weren’t hurting and felt like I could just push a tad harder if I’d need to (like, for a sprint finish) most of the way. But when it was around 700m to go, I thought it was like 200m or 300m to go, and I wanted to stay ahead of these two girls (I was now 5th) but then someone I think yelled out like 600m to go! I was like … (beep). So, I just tried to keep up this faster pace. It was hurting quite a bit by this point; that girl overtook me with maybe 150m or 300m to go.
I looked back twice at the girl behind me, but I finished fast.
I was lactic after and just laid down but that wasn’t even comfortable. Then I just laid down for ages and took in some water.
On the second lap I saw two girls in front of me drop out – or at least walk wobbly ff the course, one of them sitting down. I thought of saying something to an official we ran past but decided to save my breathe.
The course was quite hilly – up, down; up, down – about five times per lap.
My watch stats:
Time: 22:18.1
Distance: 6.24km
Cadence: 180
Average pace: 3:34
Splits: 1/ 3:13; 2/ 3:40; 3/ 3:37; 4/ 3:46; 5/ 3:33; 6/ 3:39 + 240m in 0:50sec
HR: 150
Steps: 4032
And now, I actually have a chance, albeit a very small one, at running in a World Championship! Amazing!
Warm up: 8min jog + some drills + strides.
Cool down: 10min jog.
Afterwards a woman came up to me to congratulate me & say I have a very efficient style, “You work your arms & legs at the same time”.
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