At just 12, Harry Keats traded the Illawarra's big wet for the Big Apple and headed to New York, winning the 400m and 800m events at the USA Track and Field Championships.
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The talented Wollongong Athletics Club member and his family left their family home at Bowral to take on the world, having already built a track resume which includes bronze in the Australian under 14 800m and NSW champion in the 400m and 800m.
Harry's 800m heat time in the US was seconds slower than his nationals mark, but he rose to another level in the final winning in 2:10.52, some 6.19 seconds ahead of second.
In the 400m, Harry was the fastest qualifier of the 30 athletes and won the final in 56.27 seconds.
Meanwhile, two of our teens athletes competed in the North Wollongong Zone Athletics Carnival before the term break and did exceptionally well.
Liam Halloran from Bulli High School had quite an exhausting day, coming first in, high jump (1.70m), triple jump (11.44m), 800m (2:16), 400m (59.0s), 100m (12.07s) and 200m (25.6s)
Smiths Hill-based athlete Olivia Sivills managed second in 100m (13.98s) and first in 200m (28.75), 400m (64.69s), 800m (2:27m), 1500m (5:05m) and 3000m (11:32m).
We wish both athletes all the best in the South Coast Regional Athletics Championships at the AIS in Canberra on July 29. With only 17 days to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Athletics Wollongong will have a particular interest in two friends of the club.
Sara Carli is coached by Mel Smith and trains with AW's 400m hurdles specialist Susie Seitaridis.
During the recent NSW Relay Championships Sarah and Susie teamed up with Ashleigh Goncalves to take out the Open Women's 4x400m title.
Sarah will be making her Commonwealth Games debut in the 400m hurdles.
And 100m sprint specialist Josh Azzopardi trains alongside AW's Tierney Dunne, Nat Carroll and Calem Brown under coach Rob Marks. Josh will be part of the Australian 4x100m men's relay team.
Congratulations, to Athletics Wollongong's own Howard McGarry, on being presented a Distinguished Long Service Award, for 50 years of dedication to the sport.
Well done to one of Athletics Wollongong's masters athlete Adriana van Bockel, who went all the way to Tampere, Finland to compete at the World Masters Athletics Championships.
The Championships were a major production involving thousands of athletes over 12 days.
Competing in the women's 70-74 class Adriana threw the Discus (14.30m), Hammer (19.39m), Javelin (12.76m), Shot Put (5.28m), Weight Throw (8.19m) and the Throws Pentathlon (2604pt).
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