Five budding young stars from the Kooringal-Wagga athletics club have won through to a national championships.
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Hannah Mison, Thomas Yongai, Kippy Langat and brothers Godfrey and Gerard Okerenyang all claimed medals at NSW Juniors last weekend, earning a return to Sydney Olympic Park next month for the Australian Junior Championships.
Two claimed state titles – Hannah in the under 18 5000m walk (in a time of 27:49:24) and Godfrey in the under 17 long jump (leaping 6.61m).
Godfrey also claimed silver in the 200m, behind his rival Felix Long. But he was disqualified in the 100m after a false start. In a sign of their nerves, it was the third major meeting at which he or Long have false started against each other.
His younger brother Gerard also came home with two medals, after finishing second in the under 15 shot put (13.6m) and third in the hammer throw (28.75m).
Thomas Yongai produced a brilliant effort to grab silver in the under 14 hammer, with a throw of 33.23m.
Both he and Gerard are relatively new to the sport and said coach Bill Jacobs’ help has been valuable.
Kippy Langat’s medal was for his third placing in the under 15s triple jump. With Godfrey coaching from the sidelines, he landed a personal best of 11.49m to secure his spot at the next level. The Australian Juniors are on from March 14 to March 18.
All five are on the road again this weekend for regional championships, which is a selection carnival on the pathway to the NSW little athletics state titles.
