Ava Sutherland has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships.
Ava has been selected in the team of six that will compete in the women’s under 20 event at the championships that will be held in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday 30 March.
Ava’s selection comes in the wake of national podium achievements over the past year in cross country, track and road racing. She beat the qualifying time for the world championships at the Daikin Night of Fives tracks meeting in Auckland in December when she betted the mark of 17 minutes 25 seconds over 5000m.
Ava represented New Zealand Secondary Schools at the Australian National Champions in 2022 and 2023.
The Belgrade World Cross Country will see her selected for a full New Zealand team for the first time. Over the past year Ava’s results have included finishing third in the senior girls race a the New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships, tenth in in the Australian National Cross-Country Championships and second in the senior girls at the National Secondary Schools Road Race Championships.
Ava and a team from wellington Girls’ College have been selected to represent New Zealand Secondary Schools at the Worlds Schools Cross Country Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.