Gunnedah high jumper Isabella Sawyer pursues excellence

Fresh from finishing fourth in the under-16 high jump at the Australian All Schools Track and Field Championships in Adelaide, the Gunnedah teen has looked into the future and seen what she hopes is her glorious destiny.

The end goal is competing at the Olympics. And getting there may, in large part, involve a flight across the Pacific to take up an athletics scholarship at a US college.

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"It would be a huge change, but I'm considering it," she said.

Gunnedah tennis player Aaron Osmond headed to the US in August to start a college tennis scholarship. Sawyer is inspired by his resolve.

The 15-year-old, in year 10 at St Mary's College, is also inspired by her own resolve in pursuit of excellence. The fact that she was the only country athlete among her high jump rivals at the nationals was not lost on her.

"It makes me really proud of myself, realising how long I've been doing it," she said of athletics.

Sawyer jumped 163cm in Adelaide - below her personal best of 172cm.

But she exceeded her performance at last year's nationals, when, unbeknownst to her, she carried a broken tailbone into the event and placed eighth.

Sawyer wants athletics to be a vehicle for her to see the world, with all roads hopefully leading to Brisbane in 2032 and her donning the green and gold at the Olympics.

To give herself the best chance of achieving that, she said she had to conquer her greatest obstacle - her mind.

"With me it's always been mindset and stuff," she said. "So all I just tell myself is, I know my body's capable of doing it; it's just a matter of getting my mind in the right headspace on the day."

Sawyer's coach Maryanne Perkins helps with that, as does a Guyra-based sports psychologist.

"It's also been very good in general, especially with school," she said of speaking to the sports psychologist. "It's taught me to focus a lot more. Just, like, be in the zone."

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