When Sarah Schiffmann travelled to Canberra in January for the World Cross Country Trials she was not expecting to win.
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It was not due to a lack of faith in her talent but because 15 year old from The Branch, near Karuah, was competing in the under-20 age group against older and more experienced athletes.
"Her coach and I thought we'd enter her in the trial for the experience," Rhonda Schiffmann, Sarah's mother, said. "We'd thought it would be good for her to try it and in two years time she might qualify for the world championship."
Sarah won the 6km under-20 World Cross Country Trial in a time of 20 minutes, 42 seconds - 15 seconds faster than her competitors and a staggering 57 seconds faster than the previous year's winner.
It came off the back of wins at the Australian under-16 Cross Country Championships in Queensland in August 2018. There, Sarah won gold medals in the individual 4km cross country, the under-16 2km relay and with the NSW state team.
Her results from the Australian championship combined with the world trial secured her a spot on the national under-20 team to compete in Denmark at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The team flew out on Monday. Sarah, the second youngest athlete ever selected for the Australian cross country team, will race on Saturday.
"It was a surprising outcome but it's pretty amazing," Rhonda said. "She's representing her country at 15. We're proud of her but at the same time nervous. We don't know what to expect."
Sarah said she is looking forward to the experience of competing at the international level against athletes from around the world.
Sarah's running career started when she represented Ellerston Public School at the state and national level. She has competed at six national events and won three gold and one bronze medal. Since having her coach, Guy Creber, on board for the last two years, Sarah has seen significant improvement in her results.
Sarah trains six days a week. In addition to training with Creber, Sarah is a member of the Macquarie Hunter Athletics Club in Glendale. The Schiffmanns thanked those that helped cover the cost of the $3000 trip including Karuah RSL, Gloucester community store, Bulahdelah show committee and Macquarie Hunter Athletics Club.