Steve Strevens
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LOCAL athletics sensation Chloe Jamieson from Tathra has done it again.
This time she twice smashed the national girls 15 years 200m hurdles record at the recent NSW All Schools championships.
Chloe broke the record in her heat and then went out in the final and knocked a further .13 seconds off her already impressive time of 27.67 to finish in 27.54 seconds, almost two seconds ahead of her nearest rival.
Both times were personal bests for Chloe with the final just two hours after the heats and into a slight headwind.
The national record was 27.91, held by Jessica Gulli who represented Australia at the World Youth (2005) World Juniors (2006) Championships.
She also notched up a gold medal in the 90m hurdles with a time of 12.73 seconds, almost half a second faster than the second-placed runner.
Her time was also only 0.08 from the state record held by outstanding junior hurdler Carly Rodger.
Chloe said she always felt comfortable during the 200m.
“There was no pressure in the heat where I went flat out for the record and then in the final it was really good to run that way again,” she said.
“And the 90 metres win was totally unexpected.”
Chloe is now working towards the Australian All Schools Championships in Hobart which will be held in December.
“I’ll just keep trying to run faster and improve my technique,” she said.
“If I keep doing that I think I can improve even more.”
Chloe will contest the 400 hurdles at that meeting but will be going up an age group, running against under 17-year-olds.
“They only have 200 hurdles for the under 16s so that will be a challenge for me and something new to work towards,” she said.
A major national coach Matt Beckenham has taken a shine to Chloe and has included her in his squad.
Beckenham is very excited about her stepping up to the 400m hurdles as she clocked an impressive 62.67 seconds in her first attempt at the distance last month.
“She will be up an age group but Chloe has
already shown me that she has some wonderful potential in the 400m hurdles and I really think she has the potential to be one of the Australia’s top hurdlers in years to come,” he said.
In the lead up to Hobart, Chloe will also join fellow squad members Lauren Boden (three-time national 400m hurdles champion) and Melissa Breen (national 200m champion) when they compete at the NSW Relays Championships on November 21-22.
While Chloe has the spotlight on her when she goes away, she gives a lot of credit to her father Kel, who trains her at home.
The two of them can often be seen setting up hurdles on the Tathra Country Club oval where Chloe trains in conditions totally different from any of her major competitors in the cities.
“I just can’t thank my dad enough for all the help he gives me,” Chloe said.
“I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without him.”