Shepparton’s Kazadi Kadima running full steam into Athletics Australia National Track and Field Championships

Kadima, 14, is fast becoming one of the region’s rising stars in the sport, and like most in his field, his origin story stems from a bit of healthy playground competition.

“Every day at school in Benalla, I used to go to primary school there; our teacher got us to run a lap of the oval,” he said.

“It kind of became a competitive thing and there was a leaderboard for the best times. I got into running there; at recess and lunch we’d hold races every day.

“I moved away and I still liked running, and then I saw there was a runners club at the library in Shepp. I joined it, and started racing and kind of just got into it.”

Though Kadima’s trajectory was sky-high at the beginning of his running venture, the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic halted his progression out of the starting blocks.

So much so, that he paid little attention to the sport for a good two and a half years.

His mum, Anita Larkin, said that when he eventually donned the spikes in competition again, even she couldn’t have predicted how gung-ho he’d be.

“He competed in the cross country races in primary school, and he got into one of the state races in 2019,” she said.

“Then COVID hit, so not much happened for a few years and then he just sort of picked it up again in late 2022.

“He decided to join the runners club again and he just said ‘I’m really serious about this — this is what I want to do’.

“I didn’t really realise how serious he was about it.”

Nowadays, Kadima runs the equivalent of two marathons per week in a six-day training regime and has come under the tutelage of Team Mathews Running, which boasts Olympic-level athletes on its coaching roster.

The teen sensation is in the throes of a crucial development period age-wise, and the salient advice handed down by the pros has helped shape his race strategies and tactics, not to mention a boost to his confidence.

All of that will come into play on April 15-17.

Kadima will head off to the City of Churches for his third stab at a national competition, and he steams in with a good vein of form at his back.

Late last year, the Greater Shepparton Secondary College student topped the podium in the Victorian All Schools Track and Field Championships 3000m race and ran second in the 1500m.

He’ll seek to replicate last year’s form on a bigger scale in Adelaide and, by doing so, edge closer to his dream.

“I would hope to go to the Olympics or World Championships one day,” he said.

Finally, Larkin wished to thank the organisations that have helped fuel her son’s running journey to date.

“We’d like to shout out Shepparton Runners Club and Shepparton Park Run, and also Lighthouse Project and Team Mathews Running,” Larkin said.

“There really is a village around him supporting him and encouraging him with this. It’s not like he’s doing it all on his own.

“I’d just like to acknowledge all those groups and people.”