Sport
10 April, 2026
Darcy Thatcher sprints to two state titles
“I feel like it’s always just been a part of who I am. I can’t imagine a life for me where I’m not running.”
From humble beginnings at her local school athletics carnivals, Darcy Thatcher has developed a fiery passion for sprinting.
After being identified as someone with potential, Thatcher joined the Maryborough Little Athletics Club, where she quickly rose through the ranks and qualified for the 2023 Little Athletics State Champion-ships.
Despite showcasing some naivety running in trainers and without the starting blocks, the young sprinter shone in the under 15 girls 400 m, taking home Bronze.
One year later, Thatcher was once again in the medals, upgrading to Silver in the 400 m as she missed out on a Gold by just 0.13 seconds.
A chance encounter with respected sprinting coach Conrad Oberholzer led to Thatcher stepping into senior athletics as part of the Ballarat Harriers Athletics Club under Oberholzer’s guidance.
Following years of sacrifice, countless kilometers travelling to Ballarat for meets and thousands of practice block starts, Thatcher was still striving for that breakout moment every athlete dreams of.
At the Victorian Track and Field Championships last month, Thatcher earned her moment.
Despite a recent double stress fracture injury restricting her to less than two months of preparation, Thatcher walked into states hoping to potentially qualify for nationals and be in the running for a placing.
Beyond her wildest expectations, the local product walked out as a double state champion in the female under 20 200 m and 400 m.
“It’s a very surreal experience, I still don’t half believe it,” Thatcher said.
“All the dedication with sleep, diet, everything that I’ve put into running, it’s just nice to see that I’m getting something out of it.
“In my mind, I can’t believe I’m running at a national level, but when I’m on the track running, it’s like this is where I’m meant to be.
“It helps with my mental health. It helps me cope with other parts of my life. It’s just a really big part of who I am.
“Still now, when I look at my medals, I just can’t believe I did that.”
Thatcher began her state championships on Thursday, March 19, with the 400 m heats, advancing to the final after winning the second heat.
In Saturday’s medal decider, Thatcher produced the race of her life, winning by nearly a second with a swift time of 56.70 seconds.
“When I hit the 200 m bend in the back straight, I was in lane seven, so it’s hard to tell where everyone is, but you can kind of feel the weight in their legs and I’m thinking to myself, I’ve still got the energy here, I reckon I could push,” Thatcher said.
“I crossed the line and I was just like, oh my goodness, I can’t believe I’ve done that.
“My family, mum and everyone were there and it was just such a big emotional experience and it was lovely.”
Whether she was still running on adrenaline after her stunning performance the day before or not, Thatcher blitzed her 200 m heat, finishing with a new personal best of 24.60.
With only a few hours between the heats and the final, many in Thatcher’s position would be concerned that they went too quickly in the preliminary round.
However, Thatcher went even faster in her second golden performance of the championships, clocking in at a sensational 24.39 seconds, only 0.04 seconds off the qualification time for this year’s World Under 20 Championships held in Oregon.
“It’s really funny because at the very last 10 meters of the 200 m, I turned my head and looked at my time, which is really a bad habit for me,” Thatcher said.
“My coach always jokes with me because he’s like, that would have been that 0.04 seconds.”
Thatcher’s two state Golds automatically qualified her for next week’s Australian Athletics Junior Championships in Brisbane for the 200 m, 400 m and 4x400 m relay.
While she would love to qualify for the world championships at the event, Thatcher said she’s more focused on enjoying the experience of representing Victoria.
“It’s my first time going to nationals. It was always a dream for me, especially last year, I imagined going to nationals and how awesome that would be,” she said.
“Just to get to nationals is such a big thing for me personally and I just want to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the experience.
“I love doing relays. It just takes that pressure off you because it’s a bit more of a team experience.
“I’m really excited to do that and meet other girls from Victoria as well. I think one of the girls I raced in the 400 m is on the team as well, so it would be good to get to know her, because she seemed like a really lovely person and I think she’ll be one of my future competitors.”