URCHFONT youngster Polly Maton brought the curtain down on her season in glittering fashion as she won three gold medals at her first-ever international event.
The 14-year-old, who is a pupil at Dauntsey’s School, earned her first Great Britain call-up for last week’s IWAS World Junior Games in Stoke Mandeville and enjoyed a storming international debut as she won the U23 100m with a new personal best of 13.45 seconds, the U23 200m race and the U16 girls’ long-jump.
Maton, who was born missing part of her right arm and competes in the T46 classification, trains under coach Colin Baross at Team Devizes (Moonrakers) athletics club and says that she’s still pinching herself after pulling off her clean sweep at the Junior Games.
“I wasn’t expecting to do so well at all because it was my first international and there was a lot of pressure on me,” said teenager Maton.
“You had to go out there and try to do your best because it was all worked out on a points system and you could win your race but still end up coming last.
“It was great to get the chance to meet all those people from different countries – I’m quite chatty in the cool room and I like talking to other people in there.
“I think wearing the Great Britain kit was the most exciting part of it all. I got given a huge suitcase full of different bits of kit and I just loved wearing it.
“It’s definitely one of the biggest things that I’ve done and it was a really good way to finish the season.”
Maton’s Devizes-based coach Baross has even tipped the youngster to make it all the way to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil.
The Urchfont sprinter added: “Rio would be nice but that’s not something I’m thinking about at the moment by any stretch of the imagination.”
- Devizes (Moonrakers) athletics club are on the lookout for new coaches. For more information, contact secretary Michelle Cox at michelle@teamdevizes.org.
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