HIGH jumper Liam Shadbolt is on the cusp of realising a lifelong dream, with the 16-year-old Beverford local selected to represent Australia at next month’s Oceania Athletics Area Championships.
Shadbolt will represent the Australian under-18 team for the first time at the games in Fiji in early June, after claiming his fourth consecutive national high jump title at the Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide last month.
Shadbolt cleared 1.95m to claim the gold medal in the under-18 competition to book his ticket to Suva.
He told The Guardian it would be a dream come true to pull on the green and gold for the first time.
“I was pretty emotional when mum rang to tell me the news, it was such a surreal moment,” Shadbolt said.
“I didn’t want to get too overwhelmed with it because I know it’s just another piece of the puzzle and the next step I need to take.
“It certainly shows me what consistency and dedication can achieve, all the long days training, all the time, effort and work, the blood, sweat and tears in the backyard and then having to travel away to Melbourne.
“I’ve tried to factor in all the sacrifices me and my family had to make to get this far, and I wouldn’t be in this position I am today without my parents.
“They follow me everywhere, whether it’s driving me out to the middle of nowhere for a meet or travelling to Perth or Adelaide, or all around Australia, I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.
“But I guess they get to have a little holiday in Fiji now.”
By his own admission, Shadbolt’s performance “wasn’t great”, with the Year 11 Caulfield Grammar student falling short of his 2.08m gold-winning jump in last year’s national championships after an injury-interrupted campaign.
But with his dream of representing Australia just under a month away, Shadbolt will now use his last six months as motivation for the challenge that lies in wait.
“Leading up to the nationals, my preparation wasn’t great and not through any fault of my own,” Shadbolt said.
“I had a competition a few weeks prior and hit my head pretty hard on the upright of the bar, which set me back a little bit, but the whole season leading up to that event had been full of issues for me.
“I had COVID, rolled my ankle and then had ligament pain, and just had everything going wrong.
“To be honest, I was surprised I jumped as well as I did at the nationals given my preparation, but I feel that persistence in the end is what helped get me through.
“I jumped 1.99m in the under-20s competition at the nationals on the Friday and finished fourth and was feeling really good leading up to the under-18s – my body was good, head was good, mentally, physically, everything was in line for me to jump really well, but I got on the track and it just didn’t quite click.
“I came into the competition at 1.90m, which is pretty standard, then I jumped 1.95m pretty easily and was already in medal contention at that point, but when we moved onto 1.99m, I just couldn’t get over it.
“Although it wasn’t my best jump and pretty far off my personal best, I can’t fault the fact that it was a national title.
“As mum said on the day, most other kids would do anything to win a national title, and I just need to focus on the next big thing coming up.”
That next big thing will be the Oceania Athletics Area Championships, with Shadbolt set to fly out on June 2 with the Australian team and stay in the athletes’ village until June 9.
As for whether Shadbolt’s gold rush can continue in Fiji, the now four-time national champion is confident, but aware that he will need to be at his best.
“I’ve never competed against anybody on an international stage, but I feel like if I’m on and jumping well, then I’m a chance,” Shadbolt said.
“I just want to try and keep my head in line, stay consistent and disciplined and as long as I have fun while I’m doing it, the rest will take care of itself.”
