Junior athletes head home as YOG and IWAS Games draw to a close - Youth Games Olympic Singapore
The Youth Games Olympic will draw to a close today, the 17-strong athletics team returning home with five medals and eight top-eight finishes after 14 days of outstanding competition across 26 sports in the city-state of Singapore.
With a new personal best of 13.37, Nick Hough led the Australian charge with gold in the boys' 110m hurdles, the 16-year-old then returning to the track for a bronze medal alongside Australian teammate Raheen Williams in the boys' medley relay only two days later.
Making his international debut at the Games, Hough burst onto the Australian scene with dual gold (Under 17 100m, Under 17 110m hurdles) at the 2009 Australian All School Championships before continuing his dominance with victories in the Under 18 100m, 200m and 110m hurdles at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships earlier this year.
Joining Hough on the podium with silver medals were Liz Parnov (pole vault), Michelle Jenneke (100m hurdles) and Brandon Starc (high jump).
Increasing her best pole vault mark to 4.45m, Parnov struggled through the qualification round before finding form in the final.
Australia’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Games, Parnov will now shift her attention to the XIX Commonwealth Games in less than six weeks' time, the 16-year-old Australia’s only athlete selected to compete at both championships on the back of her 4.40m leap to win the national title in April.
Providing Australia’s first track and field medal in the 100m hurdles, Jenneke improved her personal best to 13.46 to blister the straight from lane six, Starc increasing his best mark to 2.19m in the high jump to place second.
Rounding out Australia’s top-eight finishes, Damien Birkinhead heaved 20.55m to place fourth in the shot put, Raheen Williams accompanied his relay bronze medal with sixth place in the 400m hurdles (52.38), Jenny Blundell battled through a rough 1000m final to place fifth (2:46.82) and in the 200m Monica Brennan finished a gallant eighth (24.83).
Meanwhile in Olomouc (CZE), Madison De Rosario, Sarah Tait and Declan Young have taken to the start line at the IWAS World Junior Games.
In an unbelievable performance, De Rosario will return to Australia not only with a clean sweep of the T53 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m events but the new world record in the T53 100m, 400m and 800m.
Stopping the clock at 17.90, De Rosario’s record breaking performance in the T53 100m was an IPC World Championships A-qualifier, the 19-year-old now looking set to represent Australia at the Christchurch-hosted championships in January.
Also bolstering his trophy cabinet, Young took out the bronze medal in the T54 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m before returning to the track for his first-ever attempt at the 5000m, the 15-year-old stopping the clock at 14:30.26.
The youngest member of the team, 13-year-old Tait made a strong start to what will hopefully be continuing international representation, the Queenslander lining up in the T54 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m under the guidance of team coach Fred Periac.
Athletics Australia congratulates all athletes who have represented Australia on the world stage in recent weeks.
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