FORMER Old Bar athlete, Elana Withnall 21, has won gold while representing Australia in the Cook Islands, at this year's Oceania championships.
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Elana reclaimed her open woman's heptathlon title. She is over the moon to have successfully reached her goal after one of the toughest competitions she has experienced.
It was far from ideal conditions in Rarotonga. Nothing but torrential rain and gusty winds for athletes travelling from all over the Pacific, having to tackle the challenge of unpredictable island weather.
The heptathlon is a two-day track and field competition comprising of 100m hurdles, high jump, shot putt, 200m, long jump, javelin and 800m.
Elana won this event last year representing Australia for the first time, in Tahiti.
She also won a silver medal in the Cooks, running anchor for the Australian woman's 4 x 100m relay team.
She was given the honour of being named Australian female captain for the championships.
Elana feels especially grateful for the amount of ongoing support from her family, friends, coaches and sponsors.
"I wouldn't be where I am today without that support foundation,'' Elana said.
She would like to especially thank all of those who helped sponsor her to travel to these championships. This is a very important part of her international competing experience as she hopes to one day make further international teams and compete at a Commonwealth and Olympic Games.