![Rorey Hunter will make his Australian debut at Saturday's World Cross Country Championships. Picture by James Croucher Rorey Hunter will make his Australian debut at Saturday's World Cross Country Championships. Picture by James Croucher](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GzY3iczng7SLWqVgHSV78t/d0b22c4b-cf91-429b-bf77-240d6317293e.jpg/r0_0_8101_5401_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Rorey Hunter laughs when asked if he's a medical marvel.
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A Canberra-based athlete born with an extra muscle in his right calf, the 30-year-old is among just three per cent of the population to experience the abnormality.
For the outside observer, an additional soleus may sound like the running equivalent of Ian Thorpe's giant feet.
Hunter, however, eventually came to learn the condition was holding him back from achieving his dreams.
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The runner had the muscle removed in 2021 and he hasn't looked back.
"It's a funny story," Hunter said. "I had an extra muscle in my calf and it was giving me issues in the previous season. It was only small and it wasn't helping too much.
"It feels a lot better now, I can train at 100 per cent. It's taken a good 12 months of rehab to overcome the scar tissue and swelling, but I'm happy I got it done."
Hunter has always boasted plenty of talent on the athletics track and moved to the states on a scholarship at Indiana University. Upon returning to Australia in 2018, he joined Dick Telford's elite squad in Canberra.
Since removing the additional calf, the athlete has taken his career to the next level. On Saturday Hunter will make his Australian debut at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst. He will be joined at the event by fellow ACT athletes Leanne Pompeani and Brett Robinson.
It's an appearance the 30-year-old feared may never eventuate and he's determined to make the most of his opportunity.
"I went to college when I was 19 so I missed a couple of opportunities and then I got unlucky with the Commonwealth Games in 2014," Hunter said. "Australia is so strong in the middle-distance events that even though I've won a medal at three nationals, I've still been on the outside looking in.
"It's strange for the first one to be cross country but it's exciting nonetheless."
Hunter will race for a world title on a gruelling 10 kilometre course at the famed Mt Panorama racetrack. It's on the athletics track, however, that he hopes to enjoy sustained success in the coming years.
With a track and field World Championships in Budapest in August and the Paris Olympics next year, Hunter is determined to use this week as a launchpad.
With the likes of Stewart McSweyn and Ollie Hoare soaring in his pet event, the 1500m, the veteran knows cracking the Australian team won't be easy.
Having had a taste of international racing last year, Hunter is confident he has what it takes to mix it with the world's best.
"I'd like to make the World Championships team but it will be tough," he said. "With Australia having some really good runners you have to be pretty close to the World Athletics standard to make it.
"I've had some consistent training the last few months, that can only set me up well for the European season."
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