Rivah McDonald secured one gold medal, two silver and one bronze as he was among four Gunnedah-based competitors in last weekend’s NSW Little Athletics State Track and Field Championships at Sydney Olympic Park.
Competing in the U10 boys division, Rivah placed first in the 70m sprint with a time of 9.9 seconds.
It was the first time he cracked 10 seconds in this event, after his winning time in his heat was 10.03 seconds.
Rivah’s silver medals were also in running events, as he recorded a time of 13.76 seconds in the 100m and a time of 28.91 seconds in the 200m.
In the 100m, Rivah convincingly won his heat with a time of 13.85 seconds before he was forced to wait until 8pm for the final due to delays caused by lightning.
In the 100m final, Rivah finished just 0.04 of a second behind the victor.
Rivah finished his 200m heat with a personal best of 28.71 seconds – the first time he broke 29 seconds in this event.
Rivah’s distance in the long jump was 4.4 metres, and he was awarded bronze on a countback after the first placegetter jumped 4.43m while the other medallist also jumped 4.4m.
In the same four events seven weeks earlier, Rivah achieved regional records and gold medals at the Coles Region 1 Championships at the Gold Coast.
Rivah trained under the guidance of coach Maryanne Perkins, with a weekly session on the Tamworth track helping his preparations for running at Sydney Olympic Park.
Maryanne said Rivah performed exceptionally well and mixed it with athletes who have access to regular track meets on synthetic surfaces, despite him not having any access to one single event since he qualified at the Coles Region 1 Championships.
Gunnedah’s next highest placing at last weekend’s state championships was 13th, which Georgina Grimm achieved in the U12 girls division with a time of 8:53.08 in the 1500m race walk.
Reeva Ceeney and Hope Welsh each gained a 22nd placing in the U10 girls division, with Reeva recording a time of 1:15.93 minutes in the 400m while Hope’s time was 12.03 seconds in the 60m hurdles.
Gunnedah also had four athletes in the NSW junior state championships from March 13 to 16, also at Sydney Olympic Park.
Josh Spinks came eighth in the U14 boys high jump after clearing the bar at a height of 1.6m, and he placed 15th in the 1500m with a time of 4:49.97 minutes.
Angus Johnson and Seth Welsh competed in the U13 boys division, with Angus coming 14th in the shot put with a throw of 10.65m while Seth didn’t gain a placing in the race walk.
Ruby Cygan gained a 21st placing and two 23rd placings in the U14 girls division, with her highest placing occurring in the long jump with a distance of 4.14m.
Ruby cleared the bar at a height of 1.35m in the high jump, and finished the 80m hurdles in 18.41 seconds.
