RACE walker Dane Bird-Smith's heroics at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games might have given rise to a generation of future Olympians.
Among those junior athletes inspired by the 27-year-old's gold medal performance was Wellington Point State School student Myles Callaghan, who last month broke a race walking record set back in 1990.
Myles' mother Amber said the 11-year-old race walker's career went to another level after seeing Bird-Smith's performance first hand.
"We hadn't quite joined Queensland Race Walking Club yet and the Commonwealth Games were on," she said.
"We ended up going and got to be right near the finish line.
"He sat through however long it took them to do 20 kilometres and then he started training with Dave Smith, Dane's father.
"Dane came down to the club and showed all the kids his medal and he just progressed and continued (his race walking) from there."
Myles set the record at Logan River Parklands' club road walk championships, which was his only Sunday race meet this season due to other sporting commitments.
He walked the 1.5 kilometre track in seven minutes and 28 seconds, beating the previous record by three seconds.
"I don't think he knew the extent of how old the record was until we got confirmation on Facebook or something like that," Ms Callaghan said.
"I think he knew that he had broken the record after the race but it needed to be ratified.
"He was very excited at that point because he likes to break records."
Myles has built up a reputation as a perennial winner having slaughtered records at state and national level.
"He started racing with Little Athletics and in his first year he actually won the state championships for his age group and he has been state champion now every year," Ms Callaghan said.
"Last season he started at Queensland Race Walking Club and was national champion at the road walking championships they had up here for his age group."
Ms Callaghan said sport ran in Myles' blood, with the budding walker also a keen Australian Rules footballer.
He plays for the Alexandra Hills Bombers.
"He does a lot of sport," she said. "Our lives are ruled by it, which is good.
"You just want them (kids) to have fun and be enjoying sport, getting out and being active but he just blows us away with how he loves it.
"We always say to him if you don't enjoy it anymore don't keep pushing through because you have to enjoy what you are doing."
Myles now has aspirations of following in his hero's footsteps by qualifying for the Olympic team when he gets older, but only if his closest rival doesn't beat him too it.
"His nine-year-old brother Flynn actually broke his state record so they have a good competition between them," Ms Callaghan said.
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