Sporting leader running off athletic field (9)

I believe the answer is:

sprinting

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'sporting leader running off athletic field' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'sporting leader running off' is the wordplay.
'leader' says to take the initial letters.
'running off' becomes 'printing' (I've seen this before).
The first letter of 'sporting' is 's'.
's'+'printing'='SPRINTING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for sprinting that I've seen is " running quickly".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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