Beaudesert athletes have enjoyed a golden summer, with several athletes rising to the top of their fields at events held across Australia.
Caitlyn Hester – Hammer Throw
Caitlyn Hester won a Gold medal at the Queensland State Titles in March, before going on to place third in the Sydney Track Classic against the top throwers in Australia.
Caitlyn started her athletics career as a discus thrower but changed when her coach Des Davis encouraged her to try hammer throw ten years ago.
At the Queensland State Titles, she threw 57.03m, just shy of her personal best of 58.66 metres.
Caitlyn has competed in seven events so far this season and has placed in all of them, even with a back injury that she had to work through.
“I had some really bad back spasms when I was training back in the beginning of the season, which was making it hard to get ready for competing,” she said.
“My masseuse worked really hard on my back, which left bruises all over it, but it brought me back stronger and helped it heal well.”
Caitlyn can’t afford to be missing much train- ing with a lot of hammer throwers focusing on explosive exercises in the gym.
“We focus on a lot of explosive movements which involve the back like squats, deadlifts and RDL’s, so you have to make sure you do the right things with recovery after training, or you’ll find yourself falling short,” she said.
After a great season in which she placed in all her events so far, Caitlyn looks back at what she considers a good season.
“The placings are great, but I always like to look at my distances and how far I have thrown, that is my main goal when competing,” she said.
“Considering COVID has played a massive part in the last two seasons, I think I can look back and say I competed really good.”
“You’re always going to look back on a season and think ‘I could have done this, I could have done that’ but at the end of the day, you just have to train hard and compete harder.”
Caitlyn, like any athlete, has many goals and events she is looking forward to in her career and has eyes on some big future events.
“I have about two events left for this season which I am excited for. I was hoping to compete in the Commonwealth Games for this season, but I am not 100% sure yet,” she said.
“I am only 22, and many hammer throwers don’t peak until the ages of 28, so around that time I am hoping to be competing at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and at the Olympics at Brisbane in 2032.”
“They’re my big goals.”
Sarah Thorpe – Shot Put
Open Women’s Shot put Champion, Sarah Thorpe took out the Gold Medal at the Queensland State Titles.
Sarah has placed in every shot put event this season and was excited about reaching the pinnacle of her sport at the Titles.
She improved on her performance at the Sydney Track Classic on 12 March with an impressive Season Best 13.51 metre shot put, achieving second place behind New South Wales’ Sally Shokry.
Her strong results this season have seen her rank in the top 10 in Women’s Shot Put in Australia.
Heidi Hester – Pole Vault
Caitlyn’s younger sister, Heidi Hester, achieved a Silver medal at the Queensland State Championships in the Women’s Under 16 division.
Riley Day – 200 metres
Beaudesert’s Riley Day continues to impress, winning the 20 metres at the Adelaide Track Classic on 12 February.
Little A’s
Caitlyn and Heidi came up through the ranks of Beaudesert Little Athletics. Caitlyn and Sarah now train with the QEII Track Club in Brisbane under Coach Des Davis.
