Leela Lord, 12, impresses AIS coaches and eyes Olympic boxing path
Leela Lord is a 12-year-old Arrernte boxer who got an age exemption to train at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Leela Lord trained at the AIS's national Indigenous boxing development camp, normally for athletes aged 15 and over. Leela kept pace with older athletes in strength and conditioning work.
Coaches considered her for the top female boxer award. Her father is Jason Lord.
He used to box and now trains at the academy. He said she did everything the older kids did and impressed the coaches.
Leela began boxing at six and had her first fight at nine. She now trains at Arrernte Community Boxing Academy in Alice Springs.
She wants more chances to compete and is pushing toward her Olympic Games goal.
- 12
- Leela's age
- 15
- Camp minimum age
- 6
- Age she started boxing
Why it mattersYoung Indigenous athletes are getting access to elite training camps like this. It shows growing investment in talent from regional areas.
AustraliaLeela's selection and performance signal that Indigenous youth from Central Australia can compete at the highest domestic level, potentially opening doors for more young boxers from the region.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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