GOLD medal-winning feats by Emma Berg at shot put and Fraser Symons in 400m hurdles were the highs for the Flack Advisory Bendigo Region at last weekend’s Australian All Schools athletics titles in Cairns.
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There were many highlights across the three-day meet as Bendigo Harriers’ Antonio Vaitohi; South Bendigo clubmates Berg and Taryn Furletti; and former Harrier and now Old Melburnians athlete in Symons starred on the track or field.
Berg struck back from the disappointment of Friday’s under-18s discus final to dominate Sunday morning’s shot put decider which was held in extremely wet conditions.
A mark of 15.65 metres secured gold for the Swan Hill College student.
Sunday’s action began with a brilliant run by Symons in the under-18s 400m hurdles.
Symons raced to victory in 53.60 seconds which capped hundreds of hours spent training on the track or in the gym.
Earlier in the meet he was fifth in the 110m hurdles final.
The sprint hurdles campaign started with a time of 14.82 and second place in his heat where the wind reading was -3.0.
Symons ran the final in 14.44 into a wind of -2.5.
Friday’s opening to the titles included Berg’s mark of 40.28 metres to be eighth in the discus.
A student at Notre Dame College in Shepparton, Vaitohi starred in the under-16s 100m and 200m showdowns.
He clocked times of 11.42 and 11.17 to win his heat and semi-final in identical wind readings of -2.1.
Vaitohi’s time of 11.14 earned bronze in the final, where the wind was -2.7.
A third placing in the 200m heat on Sunday earned a place in the final.
The talented teen ran his heat in 23.01, wind -0.8, and the final in 22.81, wind -0.4, to be fifth fastest where Victorian team-mate Jack Peris won gold.
Kilmore International College’s Taryn Furletti ran the under-16s 2000m steeplechase on Friday night in 7:20.9 to be fourth.
Furletti did not start in the 3000m run on Sunday.
Berg and Furletti are coached by Peter Barrett, while Brett Gilligan has played a key role in the success of Symons and Vaitohi.
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