Now 23 years old, Pompeani grew up playing soccer and was talented enough to be a part of the ACT Academy of Sport program.

When her former Melrose High School teacher Des Proctor suggested she give running a try, Pompeani was unsure.

"I guess I had a bit of natural talent growing up, but I was more of a soccer player and never really thought about running until Des asked me to come train," Pompeani said.

"[This year] I've mainly been focusing on the 10km track.

"I'll probably look at the 5km too and I have been running some half-marathons lately, but my best race is probably 10km."

Pompeani claimed the 2019 10km title at the Australian Running Festival, and represented Australia at the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark.

At the start of July she won the Southern Cross University 10km Run on the Gold Coast after winning the 2017 event.

Despite windy conditions, Pompeani ran the course in 33 minutes flat - a new official personal best.

While it'll be tough to run the 31:25 minutes needed for the Tokyo Olympics, she still has Paris 2024 in mind.