By Tyler Lewis
Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium is the first of many venues in which Ariele Sprague will dazzle.
The Berwick Little Athletic’s product dashed away in last week’s Coles Australian Little Athletics Championship, claiming gold in the 100m, silver in the 200m, 4 x 100m and medley relays.
Sprague ran an astonishing 12.75 seconds in the 100-metre dash to edge out New South Wales sprinter Matilda Harrison.
The Kambrya College student was extremely humble after her victory.
“I was relieved and excited to win the 100m,” she said.
“It’s an honour to represent your state at a National Championship, (and) I’ve really enjoyed all the friendships I’ve made and the coaching we’ve received.”
While she stormed home to win gold in the 100 metres, Sprague did admit her preferred event is the 200m.
It was the first event held in three years, after the Covid pandemic, and Sprague was one of 43 athletes chosen to represent in the under-13 and under-15’s.
Coles Little Athletics Australia president Sherrie Boulter was extremely pleased with how the Championships panned out.
“It’s great to have the Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships back after a two-year hiatus due to Covid and to be able to include multi-class athletes for the very first time,” she said.
“The event has been sorely missed by everyone and to have our best under-13 and under-15 athletes competing for their state again is extremely important for the Little Athletics pathway and for the kids to showcase their talent on a national stage.”
In addition to supporting the Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships, from Wednesday 27 April to Tuesday 3 May, Coles donated 10 cents of every kilogram of Cavendish bananas sold at its supermarkets to Little Athletics Australia, with the help of its Aussie banana growers and suppliers.
All funds raised will go towards sports equipment grants for grassroots Little Athletics centres like Berwick.
