Connolly eyes sizzling start to 2025

From a gifted teenager over 400m to Australia’s fastest ever woman in the 60m, Ella Connolly’s range often divides opinion. The Olympic sprinter has little doubt of her own, dialled in on a fast start in 2025 ahead of the Australian Short Track Athletics Championships.

With a 400m personal best of 52.72-seconds at 17-years-old and a fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Under 20 Championships, few would have been surprised to see an athlete of Connolly’s calibre kick on to an Olympic debut by the year 2024.

Though that number would increase with the news it came in the 100m and 4x100m, having also represented Australia over 200m at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022.

“Last year was a really big success. One of my biggest goals was to make the Olympics, and to make it in the 100m and 4x100m Relay is something that I’m really proud of,” Connolly said.

“I also ran a season’s best at the Olympics which was really positive, because to perform at your best at the Olympic Games is the goal really.”

Relocating from the Gold Coast to Sydney in 2023 to be coached by Andrew Murphy and his growing squad including Rohan Browning and good friends Celeste Mucci, Kristie Edwards and Lakara Stallan – the focus on technical components of sprinting has only amplified Connolly’s interest and prowess over the shorter distances.

“Moving to Sydney, it has taken a while to adjust to a different style of training. We have reduced volume to focus on intensity because I had come from a 400m background,” Connolly said.

“As a junior I used to run 400m and now it’s kind of the opposite; I ran the 100m at the Olympic Games and I’m running a few 60m races. I’m enjoying working on my acceleration and blocks with who I believe is the best coach in Australia for that.”

Set to open her 2025 campaign officially at the ACT State Championships before gunning for the inaugural Australian Short Track Athletics Championships on February 1, the 24-year-old will shift through the gears in the 2025 Chemist Warehouse Australian Summer of Athletics – with her 11.25-second best over 100m at the top of her hit list.

“It’s a really good opportunity to run fast. To have 60m races on offer is really new for an Australian season and it will be an awesome opportunity to test myself in what is a long year with the World Championships in September,” Connolly said.

“We have a lot of great starters and great juniors coming through. I believe I can go faster but you need to run to find out, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Working with the New South Wales Institute of Sport who she credits as a major asset to her team, Connolly remains a key member of the Australian Women’s 4x100m outfit as they target a 2025 World Championships berth, while the sprinter will also look to qualify in individual events both there and at the World University Games.

“Cathy [Walsh] has created an awesome environment, and all the relay girls get along really well which showed in our performances. We trusted each other and were able to perform when we needed to,” Conolly said.

“This year there is also the World University Games which is a great opportunity to race in Europe. I just want to be as competitive as I can be because I don’t feel like I have reached my peak yet.”

Beginning 2025, Conolly’s personal bests stand at 7.26 (60m), 11.25 (100m), 22.95 (200m) and 52.21 (400m).

Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia