Broome girl Annabella Thompson wins spot on WA athletics team to compete at Sydney’s national champs

An up-and-coming Broome athletics star will head to Sydney to compete at the Australian Track and Field Championships in April after a strong showing at the State Championships. Competing against girls two years older than her, 12-year-old Annabella Thompson was able to pull off some impressive results in three different disciplines. Annabella finished in the top eight in javelin, sixth in shot-put and third in discuss, meaning she automatically qualified for the national championships held at Sydney Olympic Park later this year. After four years of training in the disciplines it’s the first time Annabella has qualified for the national competition — which had been a goal for a long time. “I’ve been training pretty much every day for years to get to this, so I’m really excited and nervous at the same time,” she said. “My brother made nationals when he was younger, so I’m really happy to get here for the first time.” After being selected for the State Development Squad, Annabella was given the chance to meet some of Australia’s top athletes and said their words of wisdom were encouraging. “I recently got to meet Nina Kennedy and it’s just awesome to hear people who have been training their whole life and their advice,” she said. “Many of those people are heading to the Olympics soon, which is something I think about myself doing all the time.” Mum and coach Kathleen Carson said she was overwhelmed with her daughter’s performance. “We really want to thank the dedication of Broome Athletics Club, Broom Boxing Club and Broome Mixed Martial Arts Club,” she said. “All the groups have been so ready to help wherever they can and it means the world to have that when you’re competing against people in the city who often have one-on-one coaching and proper athletics tracks.”