World U20 Championships Profile: Zoe Woods

3 June 2026

World U20 Championships Profile: Zoe Woods

Since COVID, there has been a marked resurgence in NSW race walking and they are on track to return to the halcyon days of the 1990s and early 2000s when NSW athletes like Kerry Junna-Saxby, Jane and Natalie Saville, Cheryl Webb, Nick A’Hern and Luke Adams dominated the national team. 

The new NSW generation that are now regularly on national teams include Allanah Pitcher, Lizzy McMillen, Carl Gibbons and Isaac Beacroft. Snapping at their heels are a group of emerging NSW juniors, in addition to Beacroft, they include Chelsea Roberts, Matilda Webb and the two World U20 Championships bound athletes Sophie Polkinghorne and Zoe Woods. Woods particularly looks on track to make an impact when she graduates to the seniors.

In August, Zoe Woods will wear the green and gold for the third time in her career when she lines un in the 5000m walk at the World U20 Championships in Eugene Oregon. She is feeling very positive ahead of the championships.

“I'm really excited for world juniors,“ Woods said. “My training has been really consistent, and I've been building up in kilometres. I feel like I haven't had a race that has shown that yet, but I'm feeling really confident about World Juniors. I'm super excited, the team looks incredible and I'm just really enjoying where I am right now every day. Training is something that I actually look forward to and I'm just in a really good mindset.”

This weekend she will join the Australian junior team on the Gold Coast, ahead of some warm weather training.

“I'm going to Darwin for two weeks for the heat training camp with all the other race walkers that are preparing for the Commonwealth Games. So I think with that kind of experience and that kind of environment, it's also really going to help me. I’m sure I will be inspired and continue to improve.”

Zoe Woods has been race walking for a decade.

“I started in Little Athletics in the under-8s and began race walking in the under-9s,” recalled Woods. “So pretty much straight away I was race walking and I'm still here.”

Over the years, Woods has combined race walking with a very successful running and steeplechasing career, even winning an Australian junior title at 2000m steeplechase.

“I thoroughly enjoyed running. I loved pretty much all the distances ranging from 800s all the way to the steeplechase. But it got to a point, I was about 17 I think, where a decision kind of needed to be made between running and race walking. I decided on race walking; it is something I wanted to be competitive in, and something I wanted to be serious about, so I made that switch and been pretty dedicated ever since.”

Woods turns 19 later in the year, resulting in this being her last year as a junior. How does she think she will go graduating to the seniors?

“I’ve spent a lot of time with the seniors at training camps and we're all good friends and just last week I did a long walk with Lizzie McMillen.

“So I can see my path into the seniors, but I will be honest, I also see the gap. The gap between me and the competitive senior girls currently feels quite large.”

Another gaps for Woods is the increase in distances. After previously being a 10,000m race, the 2026 World U20 Championships race walking event will be held over 5000m.

“So initially I was really disappointed in that decision, mostly because as soon as it hits January, I become an open athlete and my distance changes to the half marathon. So, jumping from the 5km to 21km; it's going to be a mission. So I was a bit disappointed that they made that even harder for me because 10km to 20km is difficult, 5km to 20km is even harder. However, you know, that's something out of my control. I've accepted it now. The 5km is a good distance. It's speed for me. It's just going to be an all-out sprint and it just makes it a little bit more exciting. I've always been naturally a bit more of a quicker kind of speed athlete just because I had all that running background. So it could work out in my favour.”

She is also positive about adapting to the half marathon in time.

“Race walking is something that you do get better with just consistent training. If you just keep going week in and week out, I have no doubt that I will be able to do what they're doing.”

After graduating from school in 2025, Woods has big study plans in 2027.

“I'm taking a gap year (in 2026) and I'll start Law and Journalism at UTS in 2027.”

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Images Zoe Woods (images courtesy of David Tarbotton)