Box Hill Little Athletics star wins gold at the Victorian State Championships

Youngster Madeleine is racing into greatness after winning a medal at the Victorian little athletics championships. Now she’s aiming to compete nationally.

Athletics star Madeleine McGregor.

Nominee: Madeleine McGregor

Suburb: Mont Albert

Sport: Athletics

Age: 11

Club: Box Hill Little Athletics

Coach: Club president Steve Taylor

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How old were you when you started athletics? Eight

How did you get involved in this sport? I got involved through Little Aths. I loved coming and competing in all the different events at Little Aths each week. When we started doing the race walk in U9s, I found I could do it well and enjoyed it a lot.

Recent competitions? Victorian Little Athletics Track and Field State Championships.

Recent awards: Gold medal 1100m race walk U11 girls at Victorian State Championships, March 16, 2019.

What has been your biggest success? This (award) has definitely been my biggest achievement so far. I won and also beat my previous PB by 29 seconds.

Describe your training routine: We have little aths competitions on Sunday and training on Wednesdays each week. I also do some extra training each day leading up to competitions. I work on my race walk technique, strengthen my legs and keep fit. I also do a lot of different dance classes. These help my fitness, strength and flexibility.

What do you love most about your sport? I love pushing myself to be better all the time. I work on my technique and my strength. I have fun doing training and competitions with my friends.

Describe your toughest challenge: I think this was my toughest competition. There were very strong competitors in my race. I felt very nervous. I needed to keep good race walk technique as well as keep in the front pack of walkers. I managed to do this, and then took the lead. I pushed myself very hard and managed to win.

What is your ultimate sporting goal? I would like to compete in little athletics national competition for the race walk, and maybe other events, when I am old enough. U11s don’t compete at nationals.

Sporting heroes? Sally Pearson

‘I couldn’t have done this without …’ Bridget Ward my mum, James McGregor my Dad, and Beth Faulkner my granny.

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