This time a year ago, Kippy Langat was on the verge of his highest achievement: winning a gold medal in triple jump at the Australian All Schools Championships in Perth.
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Twelve months on, the opportunities for elite competition have been few and far between as COVID-19 crushed the 2020 representative calendar from March.
But, just as this week's hot weather was a reminder that summer is on the way, so too are carnivals after a long winter spent training solo, to begin with, and then in a squad.
Langat will target the NSW All Schools championships in early December, competing in the 100m, long jump and triple jump.
"I've been working well with my coach, Greg Wiencke, trying to get over to Temora to train once a week," Langat said.
"By the end of the summer I'd like to have jumped 14 metres. This All Schools, I'm still harbouring a little bit of a knee injury so I'll take that easy on the triple jump and focus on speed, the 100m and the long jump."
The Wagga High School student, who is a member of the Kooringal-Wagga Athletics Club, jumped 13.96m when he won his Australian title. His personal best for the 100m sprint is 11.7 seconds.
Langat is one of six Riverina athletes selected by the Southern Sports Academy for individual scholarships this year.
The SSA says its scholarships are to assist athletes who have had outstanding achievements and deserve additional support. They receive assistance with meeting the costs of competing at higher levels as well as gym memberships and physio support including muscular skeletal screening.
"I was lucky to be chosen, it's a massive help," Langat said.
National representation remains the 16-year-old's ultimate aim.
"The big picture, I'd love to compete for Australia. I'd love to win a medal for Australia. Hopefully I can do that (at Oceania) in Vanuatu next year where there's an under 18s competition scheduled."
