Two Tamworth cousins are training hard and excitedly preparing to represent their state on the national stage.
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Lachlan Rickard and Olivia Earl will venture to different corners of the country after being selected in the respective NSW teams for the upcoming primary and secondary schools nationals.
Earl will head across to Perth in December for the Australian All Schools Track & Field Championships (secondary) while Rickard is off to Launceston later this month to compete in the School Sport Australia Track & Field Championships (primary).
Both live with autism and have an intellectual disability, and have qualified in the para throwing events.
Earl is no stranger to competing at the national level with the upcoming championships her fourth, across the school and little athletics systems.
For Rickard, however, it will be his first-ever nationals experience.
The South Tamworth Year 6 student earned his spot on the NSW team by placing second in the 12 years division of the senior (11-13) boys multi-class discus at the recent NSW PSSA Championships, with the top three 11 years and 12 years competitors going onto the nationals.
Someone who believes you can do anything if you put your mind to it, no matter the hurdles, he has certainly shown that.
From only picking up the discus five months ago, he's now one of the best throwers in the state for his age.
Rickard also competed in the shot put at the state carnival, finishing fifth in that, and the 100m and 200m, both of which he ran a personal best in.
Ahead of the nationals, which run from November 23-27, his school are holding a muftiday fundraiser this Friday (17th). A gofundme page has also been set up.
The all schools will then be held from December 8-10.
Earl, who is in Year 7 at Carinya, will take to the circle in the discus and shot put after winning silver in the 12-14 years para division in both events at the NSW All Schools held in early October.
The athletics genes seem to run in the family with Earl's brother Ethan competing at the primary nationals in Canberra in 2015 and their respective mothers both also handy athletes in their school days. Earl's mother, Karen, was a very good thrower while Rickard's mother, Michelle, was an exceptional runner.
The two regularly train together of a weekend and as much as they can.
