Forest Lake student Lola Bryant placed 2nd in the 400 metre sprint and 4th in the 800 metre sprint at the School Sport Athletics Championships State Competition held in October.
The 15-year-old, who was representing Forest Lake State High School, has only been sprint training since 2022 and was competing at States for the first time.
“I was very happy and grateful, because my hard work had paid off,” Lola said.
“It was my first time at states and I wasn’t expecting much – I was just going and getting a run in – but to get those results I was very happy.”
Lola will be competing in the 400 metre and the 800 metre events again this month at a separate All-Schools state competition.
Lola trains with the Flying Eagles running squad in Meadowbrook under her coach Tony Baker, who Lola said had been instrumental in helping her reach her goals.
Her mum, Susie Bryant, said Lola follows a strict training schedule and diet plan to help nourish her body and reach her running goals.
“We’re so proud of her,” Susie said.
Lola said she had also received a great amount of support from her school sports department, her Flying Eagles squad and her family.
At the Districts event held in September, Lola was named 15 years Girl District Champion after placing 1st in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m sprint events, and 1st in triple jump where she also broke the district record.
She also placed 1st in the 400 and 800 metre sprints at the Regionals event in the lead up to States.
“My goals are just to keep beating my times and just enjoy the journey and see where it takes me,” she said.
