By Nick Creely
National walk race champion Pramesh Prasad is relentless in his pursuit of a spot in Australia’s Commonwealth Games team on the Gold Coast in April 2018.
The 43-year-old from Narre Warren is not letting anything stand in his way after returning to the sport three years, and in stunning fashion.
Pramesh has won countless gold medals all over the globe, displaying his dominance on numerous occasions against some of the world’s best athletes.
Only recently, Pramesh returned from the Masters Games in Tasmania, stealing the show with an impressive haul of medals for Casey Masters Athletics.
“I went to Tasmania, and got gold in all my walk events, and also got a silver in a run, so I was really happy with that and how it all went,” he said.
Casey excelled as a whole at the Masters Games, with Pramesh capturing three gold medals (1500, 3000 and 5000 metre walks), Penny Hall also snaring three (1500, 3000 and 5000) and her husband Mike claiming four gold medals in running and high jump events, an outstanding achievement.
Pramesh was a former junior champion in his teenage years, and despite giving away competing in his young adult life, has rediscovered his passion for the sport after deciding to return at the age of 40.
“When I was younger, a teenager, I was competing a lot as a professional at international level, and then I stopped because of study and work,” he explained.
“But in the last three years I started again, and I never thought I’d get to this high level so soon, and achieve so much in so little time.
“All I wanted to do is look after my health and get fitter, and I just started and my competitive spirit just naturally kicked in.
“I then went to Casey Athletics and met Mike Hall, and it’s gone from there, really.”
But as Pramesh explains, all the hard work and dedication over the last three years boils down to one burning ambition – representing his country on the Gold Coast.
“I’m training really hard at the moment, just to try and get ready for the Commonwealth Games – the (Australian) team won’t be named until Feburary next year, so I have another two big races coming up to prepare for that,” he said.
“I’m training at least about five or six days a week, mostly in the afternoons, and then sometimes on the weekend when we have Victorian championships in summer time.”
Pramesh will be competing in the Australian 50km Racewalking championships in Melbourne in just two weeks, as he builds up for the summer season.
The Casey Masters Athletics group meet every Monday night at Casey Fields from 7pm, and invite anyone to come down and give it a try.
