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Teen prodigy Oboya bound for big things

Fresh from her eye-catching national titles performance, teen 400m prodigy Bendere Oboya is gearing up for the Commonwealth Games.

NSW athlete Bendere Oboya
Fresh from her national titles performance, Bendere Oboya is gearing up for the Commonwealth Games. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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Bendere Oboya was a baby in Ethiopia when Cathy Freeman won 400m gold at the Sydney Olympics.

Thank god for YouTube.

Because she's 17 now, and the youngest member of Australia's Commonwealth Games athletics team is in hot pursuit of Freeman's junior one-lap record.

And given her rapid progress to date, there's no ruling anything out.

When Oboya started running two years ago, the then-Pendle Hill High student was barely cracking one minute 15 seconds.

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Then she got a coach, and by Greg Smith's assessment the teenager had a natural stride but hadn't been taught how to race.

Once that was sorted, the times dropped with shocking speed.

Last July, Oboya announced herself as a future star by clocking a personal-best 52.69 to win the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.

In February, she sealed her Gold Coast 2018 selection with second place at the national titles.

Her time, another PB of 51.94, lifted her to third in the Australian female all-time junior 400m rankings.

Only Freeman (51.14) and Jana Pittman (51.74) have faster junior times.

"I do think about it and I'm like, 'Wow, Cathy Freeman'," Oboya told AAP.

"That's why I love YouTube because you can just research her races and watch her.

"And I'm still younger under-20 so I've got another year to do this. It's possible."

Oboya, who was three when she relocated to Australia with her parents and five older siblings, laughs thinking about her old times.

"Like, was I really trying? Were you running the 400m properly?" she said.

"Now I'm always thinking about how far I've come and I'm always going to remember it.

"You've got to keep in mind what it took to get you where you are now."

On Saturday, she'll race against Australian champion Anneliese Rubie at the Sydney Grand Prix.

Then there'll be one last hit-out at the Queensland International Track Classic before for next month's Games.


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