Despite it being a “strange and slow” final, Ethan McLoughlin has returned with a sliver medal from the Australian Little Athletics Championships (ALAC) on the weekend. It was the first time the annual event has been held over two days at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre. In a close finish on the Sunday, he came second in the final of the 400m event after running a faster time in his heat – 59.97 seconds. Prior to this he came fourth in the 200m final on the Saturday, recording a time of 24.25s. Although no stranger to the national representative scene, the laid-back natural talent describes being a part of the ALAC as “the best experience so far”.
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Comparing it to the 2016 Australian All Schools (AAS) Athletics Championships back in December, McLoughlin says he felt like he was really a part of a team. “We did lots of team building,” he explains. This included an initial three-day camp when he was first selected, and then he spent a week training with his team mates leading into the championships. His dad, Adam, says there was definitely a feeling of comradery among the young athletes.
“We dropped them off at the start of the week, did not see them again until the competition and some of the kids were rather upset when they had to head home,” he explains. It is this team atmosphere that Ethan really enjoyed and something he would like to experience more often. “I would like to start training with a larger group in Glendale and more regularly – like a couple of days a week,” he says.