Fifteen-year-old Yarra Valley Grammar student Ms Jamison Harding has claimed gold in a nail-biting finish in the Under 17 Girls 100m Hurdles at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth.
Ms Harding also competed in the Under 18 Girls Pole Vault, taking a personal best of 4.10 metres into the competition, and jumping up an age group to take on the best junior talent in the country including Csenge Zsuzsanna Zsombor and Daisy Bradshaw.
One of the youngest girls in history to soar over the four-metre mark, she has been compared to Olympic champion Nina Kennedy, but Ms Harding’s youth shines through with an honest assessment:
“Sha’Carri Richardson is probably my favourite,” she said.
Ms Harding won gold in the Under 17 Girls 100m Hurdles in a new personal best of 13.41 (+0.6), setting a championship record and holding off her rivals to win by 0.01-seconds.
“I’m really happy with that! Especially because it was quite close between first and second, so to come home with the win is great. I manage doing both events pretty well and don’t get too tired or anything,” Ms Harding said.
“Hurdles and pole vault are two very different events, it’s hard to compare them. When I’m going well in pole vault, I really enjoy it,” she said.
“I definitely need to get a lot stronger and I think I will get a lot better as I get older, so hopefully I can keep jumping higher and higher. I don’t expect to jump too high at this age, I’m happy with 4.10m for sure.”
Coached by Mr Mark Stewart, Ms Harding is building towards what she hopes will be her international debut at the 2026 World Athletics Under 20 Championships next August in Eugene, Oregon.
“I would love to jump 4.20m if I could, but anything over 4.00m is pretty good. There is some competition in the older age groups but hopefully I can make it to that when the time comes,” Ms Harding said.
“My coach is very good, especially because he likes to talk a lot like me. He does a lot for his athletes, he has taught me a lot,” she said.
Ms Harding’s younger sister, Harper, also competed at the Australian Athletics Championships. She won gold in the Under 14 Girls 100m sprint, and silver in the 200m sprint.
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