Move over Cathy Freeman, there’s a new wave of golden girls tearing up the track at Sydney Olympic Park.
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And they’re from right here in Eden.
The South Coast 16 years girls’ 4x100m relay team, comprised entirely of Eden Marine High School students, have been crowned the state’s best, standing atop the podium after a blistering 51.51s run in the Combined High Schools state championships final on Friday
The team of Tahlia Ingram, Larissa Larkham and Grace Knox had come close in the past, having been disqualified after a baton drop last year, and placing second and third in previous years.
With their fourth runner, Amber Kennedy, unable to make it to the competition, Ebony Pointon stepped up an age group to take the responsibility of bringing it home in the final leg.
But with only one training session under the belts before heading to Sydney and after qualifying for the final in third place, the girls admit they didn’t enter the competition with high expectations.
Overcoming adversity, they say, has made victory even sweeter.
“Most of the other girls come from the city and have their own private coaches,” Larissa said.
“We’ve wanted it so much over the years, and coming from the country makes it even more special.
“Ebony and I spent a lot of time practicing our passing [of the baton] at the warm-up track.
“We’ve never passed together before and I was so nervous after last year, so it was such a relief.”
Even after crossing the line, the girls weren’t immediately sure of the result.
With a mere 0.06s in it, the race came right down to the wire.
“It was pretty insane; at first we didn’t think we’d won,” Tahlia said.
“From where I was, after running first, I just saw Ebony lunging in to finish.
“I thought we’d either won by a chest or lost by a chest, but Ebony ran over and told us that we’d won.
“There was a lot of screaming and hugging, and we all started jumping on each other.”
The state championship represents the peak in school relays, with no national championships due to the fact that many schools don’t field teams in relay events.
Ebony and Grace also competed in individual events over the championships last Thursday and Friday, with Ebony finishing sixth in long jump and 10th in high jump, while Grace qualified for the 100m sprint final in sixth, but had to return home prior to the event.
And the trip to Sydney wasn’t without its perks.
Asked if they got up to anything outside athletics, the answer was resounding.
“Shopping,” they said, almost in unison.
