This week, we profile one of our elite student-athletes, Caitlin Adams. Caitlin has had much success at state, national and international level in athletics and cross country running over the past few years. Most recently, she represented UniSA and Australia at the 2019 World University Games in Italy and the 2018 FISU World University Cross Country Championships in Switzerland. We’ve enjoyed celebrating Caitlin’s success at our UniSA Sport Awards Nights; Caitlin was selected as a finalist for our Female Athlete of the Year Award in both 2019 and 2018, was a finalist for the Georgie Rowe Outstanding Achievement Award in 2018 and was awarded the highest university sporting accolade, a Blues Award, in 2018. Read more about Caitlin and her amazing achievements below!
What course are you studying at UniSA?
Master of Teaching (Secondary)
What sport/s do you play?
Athletics and Cross Country running
List your experience with university sport? AND the highlights of your sporting achievements?
I have been lucky enough to represent UniSA and Australia at international level in both 2018 and 2019. My debut Uniroos team was at the 2018 FISU World University Cross Country Championships in Switzerland. I competed in the 10km event and placed 14th individually while also contributing to a mixed team Bronze medal for Australia. Last year, I competed at the 2019 World University Games in Italy in the sport of Athletics. I placed eighth in the 5000m final and am eager to better my result in this event at next Summer Universiade.
Other major achievements:
- Represented Australia at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Denmark
- I recently broke the South Australian 3000m record (women’s) in a time of 8:58.53, which is also a current outdoor world lead in this event
- First place at the 2018 UniSport Nationals 10km road race
- Current State Champion in the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m
What is your highlight as a student-athlete so far?
My highlight as a student-athlete was being a part of the World University Games last year. It was my first Australian team for track and I was able to share that with athletes who I train with in Adelaide that also made the team for various events. Naples, where we stayed in Italy, was incredible and the whole experience resembled a mini Olympics - complete with an opening and closing ceremony. The Athlete Village consisted of two cruise ships and fresh tracks had been laid around the historical city. We were able to sightsee, mingle and compete at the highest (student-athlete) level!
As an elite student-athlete, how has your training been affected by coronavirus?
For now, I am treating this time like any other training block by building mileage and fitness week to week. As there are no races scheduled in the near future, there is no pressure to be sharp and ready to go just yet. Distance runners are probably in the best situation during this time as we can still train normally from home, run on the trails and make do with a basic home gym.
What else are you doing to keep active and healthy while studying from home?
Aside from running, I am attempting to cook new and healthy recipes, go for walks with my housemates and keep up with my home gym strength and conditioning program twice a week.
How are you connecting with your team online?
Regular zoom meetings and through fitness apps.
What music are you listening to at the moment to keep you motivated?
My running playlist at the moment consists of: Lime Cordiale, Lorde, Holy Holy, Catfish & the Bottlemen and Taylor Swift.
Name some of your hobbies besides sport?
Boardgames, reading and getting coffee with friends.
If you had a superpower what would it be and why?
Flying or teleportation so that I could travel to cool destinations easily and see the world from above!