Paris-bound Aussie's emphatic rise after cruel remark

Aussie distance runner Lauren Ryan remembers vividly once being told she wasn’t good enough.

But some eight years after being written off by a local coach, the 26-year-old from Melbourne is the fastest Australian woman in history in the 10,000m and on the verge of making her Olympic debut.

“It’s a nice little reminder that that’s where I was and that’s how I was perceived, and now this is where I am and this is where I belong,” she tells Wide World of Sports.

Ryan will line up in the women’s 5000m at the Australian Track and Field Championships on Sunday afternoon, aiming to become a two-time national champion in a race featuring Jessica Hull, Genevieve Gregson, Izzi Batt-Doyle, Leanne Pompeani and a bunch of other top distance runners.

In Year 12 at Geelong Grammar School, Ryan remarked that it was her goal to race over 1500m and 3000m at the World Athletics U20 Championships, taking place in Poland in August 2016. She hadn’t ever represented Australia, but believed she was capable of scoring her first green and gold tracksuit.

One person thought her goal was fanciful, and didn’t hesitate to give the 18-year-old schoolgirl their honest opinion.

“I think my coach also knew that it was going to be a big ask, but at the end of the day, I feel like if you have an athlete that’s willing to put the work down you’re going to turn a blind eye and go with their dream,” Ryan says.

“You don’t want to shut an athlete down at a young age.