Dunne puts Nethercote on the map

West of Eden on the far south coast of NSW in the small town of Nethercote, population 100, the electrifying talent of a promising young sprinter has been unearthed.  Swimming’s loss is athletics gain.

Fifteen-year-old Boady Dunne, who has grown up wanting to be an Olympian, was a state swimmer at 10 years of age but he turned his focus to motorcross when his swimming coach retired. However, after just two years in athletics this unassuming country boy with quick feet has equalled the 200m national record.

“We were not aware of his abilities until last year when he was in Year 9,” proud mum Narissa Dunne said.

“I had not watched him race because I wasn’t allowed to – teenagers! He blitzed everyone at regionals, so I did a google search on 200m times and realised he was at national level. I woke my husband to tell him.”

With no access to coaches and the closest track a three hour drive, the Dunne family have struggled to find the network that’s required to support their talented son. They were put in touch with ACT based, retired track coach Faye Todd, who has coached sprints and hurdles for over 25 years and, among her accolades, is the Athletics ACT’s Junior Coach of the Year award. Todd was so impressed by Boady’s times, she offered to come out of retirement.

“Fay organised a few training sessions with a new coach in Canberra, which is a seven hour round trip. We now make the journey once a fortnight to train there with Matt Beckenham. I need to take time off work to drive him and the travel also puts extra pressures on Boady’s studies,” Mrs Dunne said.

Just a few months after being taught by some rival competitors at an athletics meet on how to use the starting blocks, Dunne – with very little exposure to formal coaching and representing Eden Marine High School – unleashed his natural blistering speed to win the 100m & 200m at the NSW Combined High Schools (CHS) State Titles.

That was just one week after he attended Pursu32+ RAS Talent Program, the selective talent identification program delivered by the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) in partnership with the Regional Academies of Sport.

“PURSU32+ guides, supports and provide opportunities for talented athletes from the country,” NSWIS Director of Talent ID Andrew Logan said.

“For Boady the camp was about exposing him to the world of high performance. It was an opportunity to discover more about him and to facilitate opportunities to link him to attend sessions either in Canberra or Sydney with running coaches and physios focusing on posture, technique, body control in the first instance.”

The talented teenager, who grew up in Eden and is from the South East Sports Academy, remembers the moment when he received notification from NSWIS that he had been selected for the Pursu32+ Camp.

“My family was in the lounge room and my mum called me out and she was so excited on the lounge,” Boady said. “I asked what was up and she told me about the offer. I did three laps of house, jumping off the walls on the notification of my selection. I was just gobsmacked.”

Dunne described his visit to the Pursu32+ camp at the NSWIS high performance facility in Sydney Olympic Park as an “incredible” experience, from which he learnt and cemented his passion for sport.

“It was alien to me, seeing and getting to use the equipment and the facilities. I have not been able to experience those things before. It was absolutely amazing.

“I was exposed to a lot of strength and conditioning techniques and have majorly altered what I’ve been eating since learning more about nutrition at the camp.

“Overall, I’m trying to eat healthier, to increase my carbs and not binge eat. It was invaluable being able to see facilities and talk to the experts.”

It seems the sport in which he aspires to compete at the Olympics is chosen, next steps are the all school state and national events.

“I’ve qualified and entered the All School State Athletics Championships at the end of school holidays,” he said. “Next on my bucket list is the All School Nationals in December in Adelaide.”

Boady Dunne is now on the Pursu32+ highway to the Olympics. Paris is a long shot, LA a maybe, but Brisbane is the target, when Boady will be 24-years-old.

“I love being part of an elite sporting environment,” he said with a broad grin.

Frances Cordaro NSWIS