Dubbo locals have shone at the Athletics NSW Country Championships on the weekend, winning a large number of categories.
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Millie Gooch won the 100-metre and 200-metre sprints as well as the long jump in her age group, while Paige Wilson topped the 100-metres as well as the high jump and long jump.
Leading Dubbo athlete Jane Fardell was heavily involved in the carnival and said Dubbo athletes had made a good impression against the best from around the state.
“Millie Gooch went really well. Paige went well. The Penman children went well, Lachie Townsend broke every record he could,” she said.
“These carnivals are good because they can determine how they are going and what they need to work on.
“Most of them have NSW juniors in a couple of weeks time. Some have the Hunter Track Classic next week so they are using it as a touch-up race to do a bit more training. This carnival is positioned really well.”
Gilgandra product Paige Wilson spends most of her time in Sydney at boarding school in Mittagong and trains at Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush but said she enjoyed the opportunity to compete at home.
She said Barden park compares well to the Homebush venue.
“It’s pretty good actually. I quite like the track. It’s a lot different to when I did primary school competitions here and it was all grass,” Wilson said.
“I feel much more at home here. There were a lot of people from Gilgandra who were here on Saturday and cheered me on. I’ve loved the turnout here, it’s been really welcoming.”
The weather also worked out in favour of competitors at the event. Temperatures in the low-30s made for ideal running conditions, although some with a large number of events found the going tougher.
We had 506 people at the Country Championships the first time it has come over the Blue Mountains is fantastic.
- Jane Fardell
“It’s nice to run somewhere with a change of temperature. There’s more humidity down in Sydney but it’s nearly 10 degrees hotter out here,” Wilson said.
“It was good that they split the day with a long lunch break to give everyone a chance to cool down.”
Fardell said she was happy to see a strong turnout for the event, made up of strong local representation, as well as athletes from all over NSW.
“We had 506 people at the Country Championships the first time it has come over the Blue Mountains is fantastic. Everyone from the country areas has come and supported us,” she said.
“To get these numbers to the track and making use of it is really positive.
“My biggest worry was that we would get a 40-degree heatwave as can happen in Dubbo in January, but it was perfect.”