At just 11 years old, James has already outrun expectations—literally.
James, who is in Year 6 at Scotch, unexpectedly set a new best recorded time for his age group at a recent 3000m track championship. So unexpectedly, in fact, that he did not even realise he had signed up for it.
“I had no idea it was going to be seven and a half laps,” James revealed in an interview with 7 News.
Despite this, he maintained a swift pace, averaging 3 minutes per kilometre and placing him ahead of athletes several years his senior. He finished the race in just 9 minutes and 7 seconds.
When asked how he felt about breaking the record, he said “I was in shock. I had no idea”.
For comparison, the current men’s world record is a staggering 7 min and 17 seconds, whilst the women’s sits at 8 minutes and 6 seconds.
But James doesn’t need to look to world champions to find his idols. Instead, he draws his inspiration from two senior Scotch boys, Bart (Year 11) and Scotch Vice-Captain Conor (Year 12).
Conor and Bart are Victorian track and field athletes and key leaders in Scotch’s Athletics program. They regularly train with James and have been very encouraging of him.
“If he can keep going at the level he’s going at right now, he’ll be a special talent,” Bart says.
“He’s running faster at 11 than national athletes are at 15 or 16,” Conor added.
Director of Sport Stuart Powell said “James participated in the Under 14 age group at senior finals last year, winning both the 800m and 1500m, the latter for which he broke the APS record.”
He broke two more records soon after, bringing his total to three APS records in less than a week.
One of seven siblings, James’s passion for running was first ignited by his sisters and took off from there.
“I have a lot of energy and I like moving” says James.
And he is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
This is just the early years in his development. There’s a lot of improvement left in James and I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear his name at much higher levels soon,” Stuart says.
“James, Conor, and Bart will all be selected to represent Victoria at Nationals in April”.
Looking further ahead, James has his sights set on the 2032 Olympics, hoping to compete in the 1500m and 5km events.
