MORNINGTON student Geena Davy has jumped her way to a gold medal at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Fiji. The 17-year-old, who attends Balcombe Grammar School, has now been crowned the under 18 Oceania long jump champion.
Geena had to overcome challenging conditions and ill health to triumph over Adelaide’s Lilly Smart, coming out on top with a jump of 5.95 metres. “At this level of competition, there are no easy jumps,” said Geena’s coach Jason Hodson. “There was just a few centimetres separating the top competitors and each athlete had to push the boundaries to get the best results in swirling wind and humidity.” “This resulted in several fouls for Geena, raising the stakes and nerves even higher.”
The trip was Geena’s first experience of travelling in a large national team and the new process of flights, bus transfers, village living and working around other athletes. “The opportunity to meet, interact and compete with fellow jumpers from our World Athletics region was exciting and, of course, the chance to wear the Green and Gold was a dream come true for Geena,” said Hodson.
Geena has now returned home to continue her Year 12 studies and will take a short break before returning to training for the summer season. This includes an invitation into the Athletics Australia National Target Talent Program designed to assist her through to the U20 World Junior Championships in 2026.
“This will be our next goal,” said Hodson. “With the qualifying jump distance for this event of 6.20 metres there is work to do, but Geena is well on the way to achieving it.”
First published in the Mornington News – 23 July, 2024
