St Francis de Sales Primary School student Andison Mole had a sports schedule synchronised with the Paris Olympics this year, and she managed to rank among the best all the way through.
The 12-year-old first walked away second at the national championships for basketball as part of Team Victoria in late July in Queensland, before forging ahead in the following week to secure second place at the national championships for footy with Team Victoria in Geelong, and achieved her best performance in the School Sport Australia Cross Country Championship two weeks later, winning first for her age bracket.
She ran three kilometres in 11 minutes and 21 seconds under a tough condition with muddy and hilly tracks.
The breakthrough in cross-country performance was what Andison had been working towards for the past year after she came second in 2023.
In 2022, the first year she participated in the competition, she came 11th.
Andison has always been good at cross country since Prep but initially bonded more with footy and basketball. A shift of affection fell on her after the second national competition in cross country.
Andison said she decided to train herself and focus on getting better.
“My mom used to run, and I started enjoying it,” she said.
At many times, Andison trains four times a week: an interval run, a four-kilometre fartlek, a three-kilometre run, and a 10-kilometre on the weekend.
The school’s sports administrator Giuliana Faiola said the determination and motivation she saw on Andison was incredible for her age.
“I just think it’s amazing that at her age, she can set herself a goal and work towards that goal. She set her goal from the year before last that she would go into the top five and last year, she came second, she decided she wanted to come first this year,” she said.
“She works her week out. She plans her week. She follows people to see what training they do,” she said.
“The self-discipline is very amazing.”
For Andison, meeting new people has been another attraction for her to keep on.
She came across new friends in this year’s basketball competition, and now their relationships have extended beyond the game.
She said even when she was doing the cross country, she felt like she was part of a team, and she had always appreciated that.
