{{Short description|Australian athlete}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Sarah Billings | birth_name = | image = | caption = | nationality = Australian | sport = Athletics | event = Middle distance running | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1998|3|7|df=yes}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | height = | weight = | pb ='''800:''' 1:57.83 (Shanghai, 2025)<br> '''1500 m:''' 3:58.81 (Rome, 2025)<br>'''Mile:''' 4:32.30 (Whanganui, 2023)<br>'''3000 m:''' 8:47.11 (Sydney, 2024)<br>'''5000 m:''' 15:41.41 (Melbourne, 2024) | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Women's athletics}} {{MedalCountry|{{flagu|Australia}}}} {{MedalCompetition|Oceania Athletics Championships}} {{MedalBronze|2019 Townsville|1500 m}} }}
'''Sarah Billings''' (born 7 March 1998) is a track and field athlete from Australia. She has been Australian champion over 1500 metres.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://worldathletics.org/athletes/australia/sarah-billings-14464575|website=World Athletics|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=Sarah Billings}}</ref>
==Early life== She attended Melbourne University.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.muac.org.au/news/baden-and-billings-lead-medal-haul-in-sydney/|website=muac.org|accessdate=20 April 2024|title= Baden and Billings lead medal haul in Sydney}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.muac.org.au/news/800m-record-lasts-just-9-days-as-billings-flies-at-hunter/|website=muac.org|accessdate=20 April 2024|title= 800m record lasts just 9 days as Billings flies at Hunter|date=29 January 2017}}</ref> Billings grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Kew and attended Ruyton Girls School.
==Career== Billings competed at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in the 800 metres and 4 × 400 m relay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://runnerstribe.com/blogs/suck-it-up-and-work-your-butt-off/|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=Suck it up and work your butt off|date=30 November 2016}}</ref> The following year, she won the national U20 title over 800 metres.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/sport/young-middledistance-squad-at-box-hill-athletics-club-is-taking-great-strides-forward/news-story/11deaf2f629d026bd198c9a784261d07?amp|website=Herald Sun|accessdate=20 April 2024|title= Young middle-distance squad at Box Hill Athletics Club is taking great strides forward|first=David|last=Turner|date=13 April 2017}}</ref> She won the Australian national 1500 metres title in Melbourne in December 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7138327?eventId=10229513|website=World Athletics|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=Zatopek:10 - Australian 10,000m Championships|date=14 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://insideathletics.com.au/blog/national-record-to-mcsweyn-zatopek10-2019/|website=Inside Athletics|accessdate=19 April 2024|title= National Record To McSweyn – Zatopek:10 2019|date=14 December 2019}}</ref> However, a string of injuries limited her to just four races over the two-year period of 2020–2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tempojournal.com/article/the-return-of-sarah-billings/index.html|website=Tenpo Journal|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=THE RETURN OF SARAH BILLINGS|first=Riley|last=Wolff|date=17 May 2022}}</ref>
She was a pacemaker at the Diamond League event in Stockholm in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.pd.co.ke/sports/mary-moraa-storms-to-victory-in-the-stockholm-diamond-league-135797/?amp|website=pd.co.ke|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=Mary Moraa storms to victory in the Stockholm Diamond League|date=1 July 2022}}</ref> In November 2022, she won the Victorian 5000 m Championships at Box Hill, Victoria.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://runnerstribe.com/latest-news/sarah-billings-and-lachlan-herd-claim-victorian-5000m-titles/|website=Runnerstribe|accessdate=20 April 2024|title= Sarah Billings and Lachlan Herd claim Victorian 5000m titles|date=November 18, 2022}}</ref> In February 2023, she ran a personal best of 4:32.30 for the mile to finish second at the Cooks Classic Mile in Wanganui.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/whanganui-chronicle/news/alec-mcnab-whanganui-cooks-gardens-remains-the-home-of-the-mile/NOR5CUFRGJG3XCN3QI3ENDLZHM/|website=New Zealand Herald|accessdate=20 April 2024|title= Whanganui Cooks Gardens remains the home of the mile|date=2 February 2023}}</ref> In June 2023, she acted as a pacemaker for Beatrice Chebet to break a 24-year old meet record at the Diamond League event in Oslo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-star.co.ke/sports/athletics/2023-06-16-chebet-breaks-24-year-meet-record-at-oslo-diamond-league/|website=The-star.co.ke|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=Chebet breaks 24-year meet record at Oslo Diamond League|date=16 June 2023|first=Samuel|last=Ng'Ang'A}}</ref> She ran a personal best of 4:38.97 for the road Mile at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga.<ref>{{cite web|first=Lachlan|last=Moorhouse|accessdate=14 April 2024|url=https://www.athletics.com.au/news/breaking-down-to-breaking-through-sarah-billings/|website=Athletics.com.au|title=BREAKING DOWN TO BREAKING THROUGH - BILLINGS RETURNS TO WORLD STAGE|date=13 October 2023}}</ref>
In April 2024, she finished fourth in the woman's 1500 m at the Australian Athletics Championships. The following week she set a new personal best of 3:59.59 for the distance, inside the Olympic qualifying time for the 2024 Games in Paris, at the 2024 Xiamen Diamond League.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.athletics.com.au/news/lewis-stuns-world-champion-in-diamond-league-debut-|website=Athletics.com|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=TEEN SENSATION LEWIS STUNS WORLD CHAMPION IN DIAMOND LEAGUE DEBUT|date=20 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7174050?eventId=10229513|website=World Athletics|accessdate=20 April 2024|title= Wanda Diamond League Xiamen|date=20 April 2024}}</ref> She won the 1500 m at the World Continental Tour Gold event in Tokyo on 19 May 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.watchathletics.com/page/5474/seiko-golden-grand-prix-tokyo-2024-results|website=Watch Athletics|accessdate=19 May 2024|date=19 May 2024|title=Seiko Golden Grand Prix Tokyo 2024 - Results}}</ref>
She was selected for the 800 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.athletics.com.au/news/world-champions-and-emerging-sprinters-named-on-australian-team-for-world-athletics-indoor-championships/|title=WORLD CHAMPIONS AND EMERGING SPRINTERS NAMED ON AUSTRALIAN TEAM FOR WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS|date=12 March 2025|accessdate=12 March 2025|website=Athletics.com.au}}</ref> She finished second at the Australian Athletics Championships over 1500 metres in 4:11.51 on 12 April 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7217088?eventId=10229513&gender=W |title=Australian Championships|accessdate=12 April 2025|date=12 April 2025|website=World Athletics}}</ref> She ran a personal best of 2:33.45 for the 1000 metres at the Xiamen Diamond League event in China, in April 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.watchathletics.com/page/6564/results-xiamen-diamond-league-2025|website=Watch Athletics|accessdate=2 May 2025|title=Results - Xiamen Diamond League 2025|date=26 April 2025}}</ref> Competing at the 2025 Shanghai Diamond League, she ran a personal best 1:57.83 to place second in the women's 800 m race.<ref>{{cite web|website=World Athletics|accessdate=3 May 2025|title=Tinch and Duplantis fly in Shanghai/Keqiao|date=3 May 2025|url=https://worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/news/shanghai-keqiao-diamond-league-tinch-duplantis}}</ref> On 6 June, she finished second over 1500 metres at the 2025 Golden Gala in Rome, part of the 2025 Diamond League, running 3:59.24.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/articles/cwyneneylwdo.amp|website=BBC Sport|accessdate=6 June 2025|title=GB's Hunt second in 200 m at Rome Diamond League meet|date=6 June 2025}}</ref> She ran a 2:33.17 personal best over 1000 metres in Monaco at the 2025 Herculis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.watchathletics.com/page/6805/results-herculis-ebs-monaco-diamond-league-2025|website=Watch Athletics|accessdate=14 July 2025|title= Results - Monaco Diamond League Herculis 2025|date=11 July 2025}}</ref> She placed seventh in the 800 metres at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 28 August.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.watchathletics.com/page/6951/results-zurich-diamond-league-weltklasse-2025 |website=Watch Athletics|accessdate=29 August 2025|date=28 August 2025|title=Results - Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League 2025}}</ref> In September 2025, she competed over 1500 metres at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, without advancing to the semi-finals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7190593?eventId=10229513 |website=World Athletics|accessdate=25 September 2025|title=World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025|date=18 Sep 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.athletics.com.au/news/green-and-gold-to-shine-in-tokyo-with-largest-athletics-team-yet/ |title=GREEN AND GOLD TO SHINE IN TOKYO WITH LARGEST ATHLETICS TEAM YET |website=Athletics.com.au|accessdate=3 September 2025|date=3 September 2025}}</ref>
On 10 April 2026, Billings was second across the line in the 1500 metres at the Australian Championships but was initially awarded the national title following the disqualification of Claudia Hollingsworth for a racing incident that saw Jessica Hull fall on the home straight, before Hollingsworth was later reinstated.<ref>{{cite web|title=KENNEDY AND MYERS SHINE UNDER FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS AT AUSTRALIAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS|website=Athletics.com.au|url=https://www.athletics.com.au/news/kennedy-and-myers-shine-under-friday-night-lights-at-australian-athletics-championships/ |date=10 April 2026 |accessdate=10 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-11/claudia-hollingsworth-jess-hull-australian-athletics-champs-1500/106554698|website=abc.net| date=11 April 2026|access-date=11 April 2026|title=Claudia Hollingsworth sensationally reinstated as 1,500m national champion, after initial disqualification|first=Amanda|last=Shalala}}</ref> The following month, she placed eighth over 1500 metres at the 2026 Shanghai Diamond League, running a new personal best of 3:58.81.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.athletics.com.au/news/caldwell-breakthrough-lights-up-shanghai-diamond-league-opener/|title=CALDWELL BREAKTHROUGH LIGHTS UP SHANGHAI DIAMOND LEAGUE OPENER |access-date=16 May 2026|website=Australian Athletics}}</ref>
==Personal life== Her brother Jack Billings is a former AFL player for St Kilda and Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/st-kilda/jack-billings-seeks-advice-from-scott-pendlebury-after-being-struck-down-by-injury/news-story/e1dac633acb1c10fbd11227c23828b98|website=Herald Sun|accessdate=20 April 2024|title=Hard work is how Billings rolls|date=29 September 2016}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Billings, Sarah}} Category:1998 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century Australian sportswomen Category:Sportswomen from Victoria (state) Category:Australian women middle-distance runners Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:People educated at Ruyton Girls' School Category:People from the City of Boroondara Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia