Keely Small

Keely Small started running at the age of nine. “I was a swimmer from when I was really young, but then when I met a local coach he encouraged me to come along to training and I’ve loved athletics ever since,” said Small who competed a national level in swimming.

She joined little athletics and progressed from there. Emerged on the national scene when aged 13 years she won the 2014 national all schools titles in impressive times of 2:10.01 (800m) and 1500m (4:25.78). Progressed again in 2015, now aged 14 with times of 2:08.17, 4:23.63 and a great 3000m time of 9:34.88.

After a solid 2016, she ran amazing series of times in early 2017. It started with a five second 1500m PB of 4:18.54, two 400m PBs o 55.78, then 54.97. But it was over 800m she impacted the most starting at 2:05.08, then 2:04.95 and a barely believable 2:01.46. At 15 years she had become the second fastest in Australian junior history and broke the national under-18 record.

Made her international debut at the Commonwealth Youth Games placed fifth in the 800m. She has endured a 58-hour trip to the Bahamas and was severely dehydrated after the race and spent time on a drip.
She started the 2017/18 domestic season with a good 2:03 in Melbourne, then in February 2018 won her heat at the Australian championships and Commonwealth Games trials, but slipped to eight in the final. Following the trials the selectors named her in the team for the Games where she will become the youngest Australian, by three years to compete in this event in Commonwealth Games history.

Keely is in year 11 at St Clare’s College in Canberra. Her hobbies are watching Netflix and spending time with her two dogs. Her sister Eilis Small is currently in the Corps-de-Ballet at Birmingham Royal Ballet Company in the UK and her cousin Greta Small was a 2012 YOG Winter representative in Alpine and also the Flag Bearer before going on to the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.