Teen in pole position to become a world champion after out-jumping senior competitors

THERE are few 15-year-olds who can say they have competed against their sporting idols.

JSS Finalist Elizabeth Baral

THERE are few 15-year-olds who can say they have competed against their sporting idols but Paddington pole vaulter Elizabeth Baral ticked that item off her list when she finished ninth at the Australian Open Championships at the weekend.

The result is the latest success for Elizabeth, who already holds the NSW Open pole vaulting title after out-jumping competitors seven years her senior, becoming the youngest NSW athletics champion.

She has the rare honour of holding the under-16 and under-17 Australian junior titles at the same time.

Trained by Hungarian Olympic pole vaulter Zsuzsa Olgyay-Szabo, Elizabeth is level-headed about her career, despite a meteoric rise since she started four years ago.

"I would love to get into international competition but I'm doing this sport because I enjoy it, not because of the medals," she said.

"I want to have fun and see where it takes me."

Elizabeth is this week's Wentworth Courier Junior Sports Star nominee, sponsored by Rebel Sport.