Morgan Mitchell

The eye-catching star of the track has stopped running from a troubled past and is doing things her way. Get used to it

- HARRIET SIM

I’M CHATTING WITH Australian Olympic runner Morgan Mitchell when I find myself in the crossfire of a lively debate. “Did you eat all the Oreos?” the 25-year-old Victorian quizzes her boyfriend, US Olympian Devon Allen. Mitchell’s M.O. is to tell it like it is. Ask about her first memories of the track and she’s quick to admit her heart wasn’t always in it. “Truthfully, I was just going to training for the food and my friends,” says the two-time Australian 400m champion, who switched last year to the 800m. “Afterwards, I’d run to the canteen and grab all the lollies, hotdogs and Sunnyboys I could get my hands on.” Mitchell, whose father is African-American, was inspired by the gold-medal run of Cathy Freeman in 2000. Whether combating the stigma around vegan athletes in the Netflix doco Game Changers or recounting the night she had YOLO (You Only Live Once) inked across her inner lip, Mitchell does everything with style.

The World According to Morgan Mitchell

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