Delta Amidzovski has her eyes set on dominating on the international stage after the Albion Park teenager created a slice of domestic history on Sunday.
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The rising hurdling star smashed the Australian under 18 record of Olympic great Sally Pearson at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Brisbane. Amidzovski's time of 13.02 (+1.8) in the women's 100-metre hurdles shaved 0.12 seconds off Pearson's time, set in 2003.
"When I crossed the line and looked at the clock, it was really surreal. It was a quick race and I thought I might have got a PB, but that time was not something I thought would happen," the 16-year-old told the Mercury.
"Sally is everybody's idol, she's one of Australia's best athletes. If you win an Olympic gold medal, I'm sure anyone would look up to you, and she's definitely been a role model for me.
"I've been training really well for the last year and a bit. Coming into this race, I felt good. But I'm still so young, so I've got growing to go, and I feel like I'll hit my peak years when I'm a little bit older."
Her superb performance in Brisbane has all-but secured Amidzovski a ticket to represent Australia at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad this August.
However, the teen said she wasn't taking her potential selection for granted.
"I hope to get selected, but I'll find out in around two weeks time," Amidzovski said.
"It would mean the world to me to get picked. Any athlete knows that when you put in the hard work, getting rewarded is one of the best feelings. But even if I don't get picked, I'm still happy with what I've done over the weekend."
While Amidzovski has some lofty goals in mind for this year and beyond, she's still not forgetting to enjoy the journey as well.
The Illawarra athlete she enjoyed the challenge that hurdles provides.
"Growing up, I was a bit of a multi-event girl, but at the moment I'm definitely specialising in hurdles as well as long jump. But hurdles seems to be my favourite at the moment," Amidzovski said.
"I feel like it's (hurdles) a little bit different to a flat 100-metre run. I don't really know how to describe it, it's a different feeling having to jump things, but I feel like I go faster in that event than just the flat 100.
"But I've been enjoying everything this year. I'm still a kid, so I don't like to put too much pressure on myself. I want to make sure that athletics stays fun."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
