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Susannah Lynch claimed her maiden national senior medal to take silver in the 3000m Championships at the 2021 Potts Classic (Photo: Alisha Lovrich)

The 2021 New Zealand 1500m and 3000m silver medallist has enjoyed a memorable 2021 campaign. Here we get a peek into her world as the 25-year-old Olympic Harrier answers our regular Q and A segment with relentless fun and no little wit.

Why did you start athletics?

I started because mum was taking Deb and Aaron (sister and brother) to junior athletics club nights and I wasn’t old enough to stay at home by myself!

What was the last piece of athletics advice you received?

Women do better in a fed state – Dr Stacy Sims

What has been your career highlight?

Overcoming a back injury and getting into respectable shape. Every run where something remotely cool happens I think, ‘this is why I do this.’

What has been your athletics low?

Throwing up and peeing my pants across the finish line at Round the Bays. No, those were not separate incidents!

Where do you see your athletics career ten years from now?

Kicking ass and still taking scalps at the ripe old age of 35.

What is your greatest mistake in athletics?

Not being born in the Rift Valley.

Which athlete is the most interesting to follow on social media?

Alexi Pappas – marathoner, poet, filmmaker, wholesome ray of sunshine.

Do you have a favourite athletics social media post?

Yes. www.instagram.com/heapsgoodrunners. You’re welcome.

If you could change one thing about the sport, what would it be and why?

I wish it were easier to get pins out of my cross country spikes after I’ve left them in there to rot for too long.

Which athlete do you most admire from your event?

Alexi Pappas, for being such a wholesome soul.

Outside of athletics what is your greatest accomplishment this year?

Successfully landed a dyno while bouldering and there were at least three people watching so it definitely counts.

What was your most embarrassing moment in high school?

Showing up every day.

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

According to Pottermore, my patronus is a mastiff. I’m not sure what to make of that but it’s marginally better than my original answer, which was a platypus.

Do you have a nickname?

Suze, Zanna, Suzy-Q, Susan, Suzanne, Susannah the nana.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

A – Everyday superpower: getting parallel parks right on the first try every time.

B – Crappy superpower: Invisibility, but only when I have my eyes closed.

C – Legit superpower: The ability to transform into a living organism. Want to chill in the forest as a carpet of moss? Done. Fly over the Himalayas with some geese? No problem. Scuttle about on the seafloor as a spider crab? Easy.

Where do you see yourself when you are 50?

In the mirror, probably.

What is the most ridiculous fact you know?

Wombats make little cairns of cube shaped poo to mark their territories.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and why?

It’s pronUnication, not pronOUnciation. I would like for people to get this right at least a little bit more often so I don’t have a stroke before the age of 30. And world peace.

If you could host a talk show, what three guests would you invite and why?

1 – The unnamed Chinese citizen who ate the bat? Where is he/she now? How is he/she doing?

2 – Amelia Earhart. I need answers.

3 – The mastermind behind Stonehenge. What’s it all about? How did they motivate people to move enormous rocks across the countryside? Did they have snack breaks?