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PERTH TEENAGER LAUNCHES INTO RECORD BOOKS WITH NATIONAL TITLE

Published Fri 30 Apr 2021

Perth teenager Jackson Hamilton has launched himself into the Australian athletics record books in the F13 men’s javelin event at the 2021 Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney. 

The rising athletics star threw a massive 56.04 metres in the multi-class ambulant javelin event to claim silver and an Australian record in the F13 class for athletes with vision impairment, before backing up on the final day of competition to claim gold in the men’s Under 20 Para javelin event.   

The talented athlete repeated the feat in discus, with a gold in the Under 20 Para and silver in the men’s Open ambulant events, to walk away with two gold and two silver medals from the National Championships. 
In addition to his swag of medals, Jackson also took home $1,000 for himself and a further $1,000 for UWA Little Athletics from the Coles Australian Record Challenge, which recognised the record-breaking feats of athletes and their community clubs at the Championships. 

The 17-year-old has his sights firmly on breaking the elusive 60-metre barrier and a ticket to Tokyo for the Paralympics in August.  

“It’s been a rough couple of months of competition for me but for it to all come together at the Nationals and to throw a three-metre PB, I’m beyond stoked,” he said. 

“I’ve got another two months of competition to get the Paralympics qualifier and there’s a lot of good athletes around the world, but I’m just focused on myself at the moment.” 
Jackson also paid tribute to UWA Athletics who he nominated to receive $1,000 from the Coles Australian Record Challenge.  

“I’ve been with UWA Athletics since I was six years old, firstly in Little Athletics and now in seniors.  They have a great group of volunteers running the club and the athletes there are phenomenal. Hopefully, they can use the $1,000 to help fuel future Little Athletes.” he said.  

UWA Little Athletics President Damon Hansen-Knarhoi said the $1,000 boost came as an exciting surprise to its athletes and volunteers and will help stock their new canteen next summer. 

“We are all extremely proud of Jackson. Having been with us at UWALAC as a six-year-old, Jackson provides such a positive role model to all athletes.  We are really excited to be following his progress on the Australian athletics scene over the next few months and hopefully, he’ll be on the plane to Tokyo,” he said.  

“Jackson is the type of person who is always willing to help out with the coaching of our athletes – he creates an exciting buzz at the oval and inspires us all.  We’ve got no doubt he will continue to shine on the national and international stage.” 

A total of $22,000 worth of Coles gift cards were donated to Aussie athletes and Little Athletics Centres from the inaugural Coles Australian Record Challenge. 

In addition to the Coles Australian Record Challenge, Coles has provided more than $1.6million in sports equipment grants to Little Athletics Centres across Australia since 2018.  

Extra Reporting by Coles Media


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