Ife Okiwelu leaps for gold in the long jump.
Camera IconIfe Okiwelu leaps for gold in the long jump. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Southern Districts Little Athletics Club members strike gold at Australian Championships

Jessica NicoCanning Gazette

IT rained gold for two members of the Southern Districts Little Athletics Club during last month’s Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships.

Ifeanyichukwu (Ife) Okiwelu (13) and Antoine Vargiolu (15) dominated at the national competition, bringing home seven gold medals between them.

Ife finished third in his under-13 boys 100m run heat before turning it up a notch to run 0.16 seconds faster in the final and take out the gold.

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He would soon have three more gold around his neck after also winning the U13 boys long jump, the U13 boys 200m run final and anchoring the U13 boys 4x100m relay to a big win.

In his only blemish of the competition, Ife finished eighth in the triple jump, which was taken out by fellow West Australian Tyzreise Clark.

Antoine won individual gold in both the U15 boys 100m hurdles and the U15 boys 100m sprint, in which he was the only runner to break the 11 second mark with his run of 10.91.

He also took out gold in the U15 mixed 4x100m relay.

Little Athletics Australia chief executive Martin Stillman said the championships had capped off a big summer for athletics.

“There is no doubt that performances like Ife’s and Antoine’s have been inspired by our Australian athletics team who competed in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games only a few weeks ago,” he said.

“It’s fantastic to see our young athletes make their mark on the biggest stage Little Athletics has to offer in Australia, and we look forward to watching them shine in the years to come.”

The championships were held on April 28 and 29 on the Gold Coast.

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