Meet Kristie Edwards: Our Sprinting Sensation

Kristie Edwards (Pymble 2017) showed early promise as a sprinter when she came third in the State Championships at the age of eight – running in her regular joggers! After that she was hooked on running and joined athletics club the following year. Kristie came to Pymble in Year 7, joining Wylie House (named for another Australian Olympian, Mina Wylie) and the Pymble Athletics team.

Australia hasn’t fielded an Olympic team to compete in the women’s 4 x 100m relay since the Sydney Games in 2000. This is about to change in a few short weeks when Kristie will join her team-mates to race this event in Paris.

Congratulations on being selected for Paris!  What was it like when you learned that you had qualified for the Olympic Games?

I was in Italy for a training camp when I found out I made the Olympic Team. It was very exciting and I definitely cried when I called my mum and dad to tell them. I was with a bunch of training partners and friends who were also selected which was also very exciting. Of course, being in Italy we went out for pizza to celebrate!

At the moment I am with the 4x100m team in London preparing for the London Diamond League where we will have our last relay race before the Olympics. After that we will join the Australian athletics team at our staging camp in Montpellier where we will finish up our preparations and get ready to head to the village in Paris.

Who inspires you?

I was fortunate enough to start training with Melinda Gainsford Taylor when I was 10 years old. She’s one of the main reasons I fell in love with the sport. She is one of the kindest and most caring people I know, and she always just wanted me to have fun whilst running. Her stories of the Olympic Games, travelling the world racing, and making lifelong friends from the sport always inspired me to have that experience myself.

What events did you compete in at Pymble?

During my time at Pymble, I competed at the igsa carnivals in the 100m, 200m, 400m, long jump and relays. I also played Netball and ran Cross Country which was a long distance for me as a sprinter!

I loved the opportunities and friendships I made through Pymble Athletics. Some of my favourite memories are of racing at cold Friday night carnivals, National Schools Knockout competitions and competing at World Schools in France. The Pymble Athletics community was like one big family to me. I made so many great friends across different year groups and a few are still some of my closest friends today.

What did you enjoy about your time at Pymble?

There aren’t many schools in Australia or even the world that could rival the opportunities and programs offered at Pymble. From the incredible facilities, strength and conditioning coaches, on-site physiotherapists and world-class coaches, you have everything you could ever need as a student athlete. The Pymble Elite Sportswoman Program led by Miss Halliday, was a massive help in balancing my academics and sport.

Who will be cheering you on in the stands?

My mum, dad, sister, a few of my aunties and uncles and my boyfriend Zane will be there! I’m so lucky to have all of their support

You know you’ll have the entire Pymble community cheering you on, do you have a message for our aspiring Olympians here?

Patience and persistence! You won’t achieve your dreams overnight but the most important things you can do are trust the process and continue to just show up and do the work, day in day out. You never know where it’s going to take you!

For me, the opportunity to travel and meet so many great people has been what I love the most about athletics. I always find my favourite memories in the sport are never about the result or time, but who I was with, the different places I went and the process it took to get there.