At the recent Riverina Athletics Championships in Albury, the Corowa High School student beat the previous 3000m trial record by 11 seconds, finishing in nine minutes and 14 seconds.
Wood trains with the Albury Athletics Club, under the guidance of former Olympian distance runners Ryan and Genevieve Gregson.
With the dream to represent Australia at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics in mind, the year 10 student trains six days a week, clocking 100, 000 steps across more than 60 kilometres on foot.
Eric said he has loved the feeling of crossing the finishing line in first place since he was nine years old.
“Winning is unbelievable, that feeling is a surreal experience,” Eric said.
“To train all the time and have something to show for it, is what it's all about.
“To break the record by 10 seconds, which my mate held for more than a year, was awesome.
“I was over the moon with the win because I hadn’t had that many good races in the lead up to the championships.”
Eric was inspired to run by his father Brendon, who had to step away from competitive running at the age of 16.
“I got into it because of my Dad who always used to go out for runs, and want to train and keep fit,” he said.
“We are going to the 12-kilometre City-Bay marathon in Adelaide this September, which is something that he’s always wanted to do, but never could because of his injuries.
“My Dad motivates me to run; for me it's to do what he couldn’t.”
Corowa High School deputy principal Phillip Le Lievre said Eric has a great deal of potential.
“He’s applying his best efforts both inside the classroom and out on the track,” Mr Le Lievre said.
“I think it’s outstanding the record he’s just broken, and it’s reflective on everything that he does at school as well.
“He’s right up there in leadership in school athletic carnivals and has a leadership role as a member of the student council.”
The brilliant performance achieved at the Riverina Athletics Championships has put Eric Wood in a rich-vein of form heading into the City-Bay marathon in Adelaide, this month.
18°C