FOUR members of the Gunnedah Little Athletics Club achieved four medals each as they took part in the 40th Anniversary Dubbo New Year Carnival at Barden Park last weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bella Sawyer claimed four gold medals while brother Hayden snared two golds and two silvers, while Shoesmith brothers Owen and Oliver nabbed three golds each.
Bella and Owen were in the under 10s while Oliver and Hayden were in the under 8s.
The elder of the Sawyer siblings cleared a height of 1.16m in high jump and leapt 3.81m in long jump, and recorded times of 15.53 seconds and 32.99 seconds in the 100m and 200m events.
Bella’s figures in the long jump and 100m and 200m events were personal bests (PBs), while Hayden achieved PBs in long jump and the 70m and 100m sprints.
Hayden earned gold in the long jump and discus with figures of 3.44m and 16.28m, and earned silver in the 70m and 100m sprints with times of 11.51 and 16.41.
Oliver achieved gold in the hurdles, 400m and 700m events and bronze in the 200m, as well as PBs in the 200m and 700m.
Oliver’s times were 37.43, 1.22.71 and 2.44.80 in the 200m, 400m and 700m events, and his time in the hurdles was 13.19.
Owen achieved PBs and gold medal status in the 200m and hurdles, with times of 30.7 and 11.96.
Owen also achieved gold in long jump with a figure of 3.88m, and earned silver in high jump after clearing the bar at 1.05m.
The Gunnedah quartet saw the carnival as a good opportunity to keep up the momentum of their training, leading up to the regional athletics carnival in Lismore at the end of this month.
Barden Park is of an international standard with a synthetic track, which is the sort that most youngsters don’t experience unless they attend regionals or state.
It was Hayden’s and Oliver’s first time on a synthetic track with automatic timing. Oliver and Owen’s mother Michelle said that “they thought it was great”.
“Children had a great time at the carnival making new friendships, facing some tough competition and achieving many personal bests,” she said.
“The four Gunnedah competitors deserved their success, as their results were a testament to their dedication and hard work at training.”
Maryanne Perkins was acknowledged for training the quartet.
