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OCTOBER 14 2002
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NSW All Schools / Sydney
Six Hills athletes were this week crowned state champions at the NSW All Schools Championships held at Sydney's Olympic Park.
Darren Boulet led the charge, taking the 17 years long and triple jump crowns with leaps of 6.83m and 14.15m respectively, and drawing both the 100m and 200m finals, finishing seventh in both with 11.44s and 22.87s respectively, breaking his previous personal best with a quick heat time of 22.63s (wind-assisted).
Success also came to Michelle Riley, who snatched the 15 years 100m title in 12.39s and finished second in both the 200m (25.61s) and the long jump (5.22m), and Kathryn Archbold, who took out the 17 years 2000m Steeplechase (7:27.67) and placed second in the 16 years 3000m (10:22.87), cementing new personal best times in both events. It proved a gruelling weekend for Archbold, who on top of these events, also competed in the 16 years 800m and 1500m, managing fifth in both.
Sean Geoghegan reigned victorious in the 14 years 1500m (4:22.5), just missing out on the medal positions in the 3000m with a fourth place 9:48.57 finish. In the field, Katelyn Grehan took first place on the podium in the 17 years triple jump (11.72m) and fourth in the long jump (5.22m) whilst Bianca Doja successfully contained the field in the 16 years high jump, earning gold with a jump of 1.73m.
Other Hills athletes on the podium during the Championships included Kelly McIntosh (2nd 17 years 400m Hurdles), Jay Stevens (2nd 17 years 1500m), Michael Barber (3rd 19 years decathlon), Rhianon Bickford (3rd 19 years triple jump) and the hugely talented Heidi Gregson (2nd 13 years 800m). Congratulations to all athletes who competed at the championships.
OCTOBER 2002
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World Masters Games / Melbourne
Hills is proud to announce that George Jankowski is the official World Masters Men 40 years+ Pole Vault Champion after a clearance of 2.50m at the World Masters Games held at Melbourne Olympic Park this weekend. After leaping 2.50m to secure the silver medal, George hastily packed his bags and departed the track for Melbourne airport to jump onto the next flight home, thinking an athlete from Japan would claim the gold. As events unfolded, the Japanese vaulter failed to clear his starting height and it was not until three days later that George was notified by Athletics Australia that he had now become the official world 40+ pole vault champion in a busy weekend of competition that saw him win silver in the 400m hurdles (1:06.92s) and finish fourteenth in the 40+ triple jump (9.69m).
A good weekend also for Tom Barber, with a third place finish in the Men's 55+ 100m hurdles (18.42s) and tenth in the 55+ long (4.63m).
SEPTEMBER 2002
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Commonwealth Games / Manchester UK
Congratulations to Jana Pittman on her double gold medal-winning performance in the 400m Hurdles and 4x400m Relay in Manchester overnight. After taking the 400m Hurdles in a scorching 54.4s and moving up the world rankings to world number 2 (currently ranked number 1 in the Commonwealth), Jana teamed up alongside Cathy Freeman, Tamsyn Lewis and Lauren Hewitt to take out the Women's 400m Relay, establishing a new Commonwealth Record of 3:25. In what has proven a sterling year for Jana, at only 19 years of age, the 2000 IAAF Rising Star Award Winner is now a dual Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist.
It has also been a memorable championships for one of Hills' longest-serving athletes, Nikki Barnes, working behind the scenes as a field reporter and media consultant. A well-known and liked member of the Ron White stable having represented NSW at a National level on numerous occasions, Nikki and husband Tim Barnes have been long-standing squad members with Hills for the past decade, taking several State and National titles between them. Nikki adds the 2002 Manchester Games to an impressive CV that also includes the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the 2001 Edmonton World Athletics Championships.
