Harry Sly took a bronze medal away from the 400m hurdles at the Oceania Athletics Championships.
Harry Sly has continued to add to his growing list of accolades, the Echuca-Moama Athletics star taking on the international region at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin from May 18 to 22.
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After taking home silver in the under-18 400m hurdles at the national under-age championships, Sly found himself squaring up against a field that included not only the countries best, but the leading athletes from New Zealand and the wider Pacific.
At nationals, the Echuca-Moama athlete ran a personal best time of 53.60 seconds, but stifling conditions knocked all the athletes a notch below peak performance for the Oceania event.
In a throw to the line, Sly narrowly secured himself an Oceanic bronze medal with a time of 55.53, second and fourth separated by only 0.46 seconds.
“I was happy with the run,” Sly said.
“I really wasn't worried about times because I was super happy with what I ran at nationals.
“I did run a bit run a bit slower, but it was different conditions.
“It was later in the day, it was really, really hot, but I was happy enough to get a medal, that was my goal.”
Only adding to Sly’s impressive performances on the national and international stage is his relative lack of experience.
Compared to many athletes at this level, he is a newcomer to the scene, only taking up the sport at the end of his primary schooling.
“It was back in Year 6 when, for school athletics, I got selected in the relay with a few other boys,” Sly said.
“I started doing some training with (current Echuca-Moama Athletics president) Kate (Downward) and the other boys getting ready for that and then the end of that year I decided to join athletics because I enjoyed the time with the boys in the relay and doing other events.
“Kate got me into hurdles because she was a hurdler and still is, so I tried it out and said I'll give it a go, and I ended up doing well in the hurdles.”
Downward and Sly have been working together for about four years, Sly taking to the middle distance race because of the varied challenges it poses.
“Something I liked about it was how unique it is and how all the different factors lead to being good at it,” Sly said.
“I love the 400 hurdles because you get to find your rhythm easier and it's like not as taxing as the short hurdles.
“(In) the short hurdles you have to be really explosive, whereas 400 hurdles you just stick with it and run smooth.
“Holding form in your steps and all that matters.
“I like the more calm approach to it.”
Harry Sly (right) finished on the podium behind fellow Australian Cameron Badger and gold medallist from New Zealand Rianco Carel Haggard.
Downward said Sly had really taken to the challenges of the 400m hurdles, showing strong coachability and adaptability.
“It's very exciting to work with Harry as a coach,” she said.
“This is obviously a partnership and we spend a lot of time planning our training as well as executing the training.
“One of the things Harry does very well is take on board new things and new ideas and put them into place and that's particularly hard in a race situation.
“Harry is always showing great confidence in his own skills and that's really important.
“Being able to execute in big races is a credit to him and his work ethic.”
Sly thanked some of the organisations that have supported him in his journey including his gym Impact Body and Mind Moama, Echuca-Moama Apex and Echuca Moama Athletics Club.
Also at the Oceania Championships was fellow Echuca-Moama Athletics representative Scarlett Southern, who competed in the senior women’s 400m as part of the regional Australia team.
Up against former Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes including Ellie Beer and Mia Gross, Southern wasn’t able to get on to the podium.
