Stratton’s lifelong long jump dream
F-Teamer Brooke Stratton is ready to jump at Rio.
Two years after joining Nunawading Little Athletics Centre in Victoria and falling in love with long jump, then seven-year-old Funkita athlete Brooke Stratton decided she wanted to go to the biggest sporting event in the world. She remembers the exact moment she decided her ultimate goal.
"When I was in grade one, I watched Cathy Freeman bring home the gold medal for Australia in the 400m at Sydney 2000. That's when my dream of making the team started," Stratton says.
Now 22 and with her place on the Australian team confirmed, Brooke can hardly believe that her dream has become a reality. The Victorian secured her spot on the team with an impressive jump of 6.68m. She also holds the Australian record after jumping 7.05m in March, breaking the previous record that had stood for 14 years. The moment she realised that she had qualified was an emotional one for Brooke.
"With all the hard work I'd put in over the years, as well as the setbacks I have overcome, it was so exciting to know my dream of making the team had come true," she says.
Brooke wears Funkita Fit Mosaic Magic crop top and Mimi Mini shorts.
After winning her first state gold medal in the Under 9 age group, Brooke went on to win gold in the long jump and triple jump, and then represented Australia at the World Junior Championships in 2010 and 2012.
She was selected for her first senior team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games but couldn't compete due to a back injury and then narrowly missed the final at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. While no stranger to competing at a high level, Brooke knows that competing in the Rio stadium will be completely different to what she's experienced before.
"The opportunity to compete at Rio with thousands of people watching is going to be amazing and something very few get to experience. I can't wait," she says.
Long jump is a very technical event and Brooke admits she constantly works on new techniques to improve.
"At the moment I've been focusing on my take-off position, taking off upright when I'm jumping to ensure I'm not losing velocity. Little changes in long jump can result in centimetres which can be vital at international level," she reveals.
Brooke says her biggest challenge will be to get through the qualifying round and progress to the final.
"With only three jumps in the qualifying round, there is a lot of pressure to produce a distance big enough to progress through to the final, especially at this level," she says.
We can't wait to see Brooke jump in Rio!