![Zoe Addinsall won the U17 female Australian National Laser run championship. Picture by Adam Trafford Zoe Addinsall won the U17 female Australian National Laser run championship. Picture by Adam Trafford](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/greg.gliddon/d8975dc8-5de6-4298-b621-d33ecddda9eb.jpg/r0_0_4612_3071_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
BALLARAT Grammar student Zoe Addinsall will head overseas for the second successive year to join an Australian squad which will compete at the Laser Run World Championships to be held in Bath, England in August.
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Addinsall, originally from Hamilton in the western district, boards throughout the week in Ballarat to enable her to get the high level coaching needed to compete in the fascinating world of modern pentathlon.
Earlier this month, Addinsall won the under-17 title at the Australian National Laser Run Championships which were held in Sydney. Her time of 10 minutes 35 seconds for the run and laser shooting event saw her qualify for the world titles by more than a minute.
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"That's the running and shooting component of the modern pentathlon," she said. "So it's a continuous run of 600m then you run in and shoot where you have to shoot five greens in 50 seconds. But obviously the quicker you're able to do it, the quicker time you can make. I do 4x600m and between each you have to shoot." Addinsall said she began getting involved in the sport through pony club.
"I started in Tetrathlon at pony club, which is running, shooting, swimming and horse riding, which then obviously leads onto penthalon. The only sport you don't do is the fencing. Fencing is the most difficult one definitely, I do that on the weekend's in Melbourne.
"When I started I was 11 or 12 and I loved all the sports. Playing all the sports together just makes it so much fun."
![Addinsall finished sixth and third in two events in Portugal last year. Addinsall finished sixth and third in two events in Portugal last year.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/greg.gliddon/6df8cb2f-5a00-4f33-ad4a-0cf4e77d2cbc.jpg/r0_0_4850_3228_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Last year Addinsall she competed in the same event in Portugal, finishing sixth and third in her two events. She said she hoped to go better this time with an aim to shave 35-40 seconds off her time from Sydney, in going under 10 minutes."
"I'm assuming it will be up against similar competitors and I've definitely improved this year," she said. "I'd love to be able to get about 30 more seconds off my time to get on the podium. I'd be aiming at 10 minutes or 9.50 minutes if I can.
"Probably the key will be my shooting. I think the running is fine, but obviously coming in off the run and trying to hold the gun still is the key for me."
"It'll be me trying to figure out my breathing on my shooting and even though I think my run is good, I'd love to be able to take a few seconds off that too if I could."
It's rare for a person from Victoria to be so heavily involved in the sport with Addinsall saying the biggest group of modern pentathletes based around Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales.
She said the dream of representing Australia at a home Olympics in Brisbane was firmly in her goals for the future.
MPA pathways and performance manager Kim Richardson said Bath would serve as an opportunity to blood many youngsters.
"The primary development tour this year is the Laser Run World Championships in Bath," Richardson said. "A large team of 13 athletes, consisting predominately of youth athletes, has been selected to go on this tour with the objective being to nurture and progress athlete development towards LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032.
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