Eleven-year-old An-ne Pelser took out the gold medal in the discus at the recent State Track and Field Championships to become Collie’s first little athletics state champion in almost 10 years.
An-ne threw 25.23m at the state championships to claim the gold medal, throwing the discus almost two metres further than the closest competitor.
An-ne said she was happy to have taken the gold medal in the discus, along with bronze medals in the shot put and the high jump, her favourite event.
It was her second time competing at the event, having finished just out of the medals in three events the previous time.
The state championships capped off a great season for An-ne. She claimed several gold medals at the Country Championships in January, along with a record in the discus.
She also claimed medals at the multi-events in Armadale and Gosnells earlier this year, along with four records, in discus, shot put, javelin and high jump, at the Collie River Valley little athletics club meets.
An-ne’s mother Anneke said she was proud of her daughter’s achievements and it was testament to the training she put in over the summer school holidays.
“It was absolutely amazing,” she said.
“She practised two or three times a week, along with competition nights on Friday.
“She really worked hard for this.”
As there are no national championships for little athletics until the under 13 age group, An-ne said her focus would shift to other sports, such as netball and underwater hockey, until winter training starts.
She will also be skipping the under 12 age group next season to join the under 13 group in hopes of qualifying for the national championships.
An-ne said she was both nervous and excited by the challenge of competing against older girls.
