Since starting her athletics career nice and early, Launceston's Abbie Butler's list of achievements continues to grow.
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The 14-year-old triplet completed her first Burnie Ten in a pram at the age of 15 months alongside dad Marcus, mum Emma and brothers Mitchell and Luke, while then taking out her first two-kilometre race after turning four.
Selected in the Tassie Talent Program by Athletics Tasmania this season and training in conjunction with the Tasmanian Institute of Sport, Abbie has been nominated for Rising Female Star of the Year in The Examiner's Junior Sport Awards.
Having represented Tasmania in both track competition and cross-country, the superstar's last 12 months have confirmed her as one of the state's fastest-rising athletes.
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Smashing out wins over a five-kilometre distance, Abbie dominated state competition by taking out the: Launceston Ten 5km, Burnie Ten 5km - breaking the record by 90 seconds, Launceston and Cadbury Marathon's 5km and the women's 5km.
Racing in Queensland, she also won the Sunshine Coast 5km event, furthering her pedigree.
Not content with her cross-country domination, Abbie completed her first-ever 2000-metre steeplechase race in October last year and broke the Northern centre record in doing so.
She progressed to win gold in the Tasmanian All Schools 1500m and 2000m steeplechase events, and in addition to her original record, smashed the under 15s,16s,18s and 20 Northern Athletics Centre records over the latter distance.
Named Athletics Tasmania's under-16 female athlete of the year, a fourth-placed finish in open competition over 1500m saw her step up against more experienced runners before a top-10 run at the Australian Junior Championships.
Once again, that wasn't enough, as a silver medal and new state record over the longer 2000m distance at nationals put her name well and truly on the national scene.
Abbie has shown tremendous growth as an athlete in the 2018-19 season and is enthusiastic about continuing her rapid progression next season.
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Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
