Athletics Day a winner

24 Feb 2020

Perfect conditions and a light breeze formed the backdrop to some spirited performances by College athletes, with Upper transformed into a highly competitive arena and the boys vying fiercely for line honours and smashing records at Athletics Day on Friday 21 February.

One of the top performers was 13-year-old Year 9 student Armani Lemalu, who blitzed the field events, breaking both the U14 shot put and discus records set by Patrick Thacker in 2014. The young Somes House athlete put the shot 13.50m, beating the previous record of 11.35m, and then went on to throw the discus 46.41m, breaking Patrick’s record of 36.35m by a staggering 10m.

Armani, who competes for the New Brighton Olympic Athletics Club, was set on breaking both records.

“With the shot put I ended up spinning a bit, and the throw felt really good,” he said after his winning attempt.

He felt reasonably confident in the discus, knowing his personal best for competition this season is 47.75m and that his overall best in training sits at 49.49m.

Other new records were set by Year 10 students AJ Madondo and Joseph Nash in the U14 triple jump and junior 400m respectively, and by Year 12 student Sam Idiens in the intermediate 1500m and 3000m.

With parents and guests filling the stands, and House banners flying, the support and enthusiasm of competitors and spectators alike made the annual event an especially fun and vibrant one.