Allanah Pitcher, 18, of Terrigal continues to build her international race walking resume, scoring two firsts and a second place in the recent Australian U23 European tour, held in the UK.
Following her success at the 2022 World Race Walking Team Championships held in Oman in March, where she came seventh, Pitcher was one of 20 Australians selected to compete in the three-week European tour, with athletes from almost every discipline taking to the field.
The tour, which began on July 12, saw Pitcher compete in two races in England and one in Ireland.
Pitcher won the Under 23 English Championships, which was a 5km race walk held in Bedford.
She then competed in the AAI Games held in Ireland, coming second in the open 3km race walk.
Returning to Bedford, Pitcher won the Open English Championships in a 5km race walk, recording a personal best time.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” she said.
“It was unknown territory as we didn’t know who the other walkers would be.
“I really just had the goal of improving my own personal best – and I did that in the final race, where I completed the 5km in 23 minutes 39 sec, shaving eight seconds off my own PB.”
With the eventual goal of representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics in the future, Pitcher is concentrating for now on state and national competitions, with two coming up in Melbourne in September and December.
“We have two seasons – the winter season on road and the summer season on track,” she said.
“I was really surprised to do so well in Oman, where I placed seventh in the Under 20 women’s race walk, as I was competing against athletes from all over the world.
“I would really like to qualify for the next World Championships in Oman, but this time in the Open division.”
Originally training as a runner, this is Pitcher’s 10th year as a race walker.
“As I was training with Frank Overton, I saw he also had athletes doing race walking and that really interested me,” she said.
“I really enjoy the group environment.”
Pitcher continues to train with Overton on the Gosford track.
Terry Collins