Sport
21 January, 2025
Schodde secures gold in New Zealand
Dunolly little athletics star Mia Schodde has added another golden tinge to her trophy cabinet, winning the 4x100 metre relay at the North Island Colgate Games.
Schodde was one of 38 athletes who were sent to Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand to represent the Little Athletics Victoria development team.
The Colgate Games is one of the biggest athletics events for children, with hundreds of athletes aged between seven and 14 coming together to celebrate the joy of little athletics.
She was selected for the squad after getting sixth in the 2024 Athletics Australia and Little Athletics national championships in Adelaide for her pet event the High Jump.
The trip was made possible after the local community raised over $3000 to pay for Schodde’s expenses while competing.
Schodde ensured she made the most of the experience, competing in five events over the course of three days.
The highlight came on the final day of competition, with Schodde claiming the gold medal in the 4x100m relay alongside teammates Shakira Lual, Stella Peters and Talise Botha.
After the team set the best time of the preliminary heats with an impressive 53.32 seconds, they made sure to back it up in the final, winning by over half a second with a time of 53.37 seconds.
In her specialty of the High Jump, Schodde claimed another sixth place after clearing 1.40m and 1.45m without a fault. She was just unable to clear 1.50m, which would have put her in contention for the medals.
Schodde also competed in the Long Jump where she came ninth with a jump of 4.26m, and ran in the 100m and 200m races, finishing with times of 14.82 and 31.70 respectively.