Larissa may be the next Bolt
IF LARISSA Chambers achieves her dreams, all of Ipswich will one day be able to celebrate along with her.
The 16-year-old sprint sensation has her eyes firmly fixed on the Rio Olympics in 2016, where she hopes to show off a pose of her own in the spirit of sprint superstar Usain Bolt.
Bravado among sprinters is nothing new and is considered par for the course for 100 metre runners.
So is young Larissa confident enough to psyche out her opponents on race day?
"Sometimes," she said.
"If I know I'm going to win I can be a bit over the top.
"I tend to walk out like I own the track.
"But if I'm in a tough race I get a bit nervous."
Chambers has been an Ipswich junior athletics star for some time but recently announced herself as a future Olympian with her standout results at the Oceania Championships in Cairns.
In her first open age competition representing Australia, the 100 and 200 metre specialist won two gold and one silver medal, despite injuring an ankle on the eve of the meet.
Coach Vic Pascoe is targeting the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 for his junior star but Larissa has other ideas.
The performance of 18-year-old 400 metre runner Steve Solomon in London has the Springfield Anglican College student shooting for the stars.
"His result to make the final was amazing and a bit of a surprise," she said.
"If I could do what he did at the World juniors and then make it to the Olympics I'd be so happy."
Larissa nominates Cathy Freeman as her sporting hero, which is not surprising considering the Sydney Olympics star is a distant relative.
Mum, Wendy, said she has always believed her daughter would one day be an Olympian.
"She has always had an incredible work ethic," she said.
"She trains five days a week and wasn't the best as a younger athlete but has got better every season.
"Now she is beating all the kids that used to beat her and it was a 19-year-old that beat her in the 100 metres final in Cairns."
BRING ON RIO
Larissa's best time for the 100 metres 12.17 seconds is the third fastest by a female in Australia this year.
Oceania Championships results: Gold 200 metres, Gold 4x100 metre relay, Silver 100 metres
Goal: to represent Australia at the Olympics
