Blue Mountains athlete Melinda Vernon mixed it with the best in her debut at the World Cross Country Championships held on March 30 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Melinda, who has profound hearing loss, had to contend with an ear infection on the trip – a result of exchanging Australia’s comfortable climate for Scotland’s bitter cold.
But once on the course, Melinda ran a strong race, even despite her disastrous start.
Due to her hearing, Melinda must be positioned to have a clear view of the starter. Although this condition was met thanks to the efforts of the Australian team manager, nobody noticed a camera-man and his equipment obstructing Melinda’s start area.
She patiently waited for the area to be cleared only to look up and discover her 95 competitors were already off and running.
“I was stunned and all I could do was to try and catch as many runners as possible before the course narrowed, otherwise I would be stuck behind runners I could normally pass,” said Melinda.
Putting her tactic into play, at about 1 km into the race Melinda had latched on to the leading pack. Staying with the cluster of athletes for some time, the huge effort eventually took its toll as the terrain became more challenging, with mud and uneven ground preventing Melinda from her race plan through to the end.
“(It’s) a feeling of euphoria, something I’ll never forget when you find yourself running alongside your Aussie team members,” she said.
Melinda’s final placing of 41st was a great result for her debut at world championship level.
Her local coach Graeme Heape, who in the early hours of the morning waited anxiously by the phone to hear of Melinda’s performance, was delighted by the live coverage which showed his charge turning a sticky situation into success.
In the end the Australian Women’s Cross Country Team team brought home the bronze and Melinda was pleased to play her part in the result.
Team coach Sonia O’Sullivan was extremely excited by the Australian girls’
performance.
Soon after the championships in Scotland, Melinda competed at France’s World University Cross Country Championships.
There the Australian team performed its best ever, winning silver with good placings from the team in this field.
Finishing 6th, Melinda said she needed a bit more experience running on muddy terrain.
Coach Graeme Heape was more than happy with her result having backed up after her first World Championship event just a week before.
Melinda said the entire experience has helped her set goals for the future and she is looking positively on her running career.