Age no barrier for Shrewsbury golden girl
Thursday 3rd March 2011, 7:40PM GMT.
A Shrewsbury athlete has won a national championship gold medal – despite being entered into the wrong age category.
O’Maro Maseli, 15, a member of Shrewsbury Athletics Club and a student at Concord College in Acton Burnell near the county town, should have completed in the under-16′s 60 metre sprint in an indoor race in Vienna, Austria.
But due to a mix-up she took part in the under-20′s – and still came out on top.
She won her heat before clinching an unlikely victory in the final – and this from an athlete whose first choice and favourite event is the high jump.
O’Maro, who is in her second year in the Lower School at Concord College studying GCSEs, was taking part in the Vienna Indoor Gala, the Austrian national championships.
She couldn’t believe it when she was incorrectly pitched against under-20 year olds.
“I was really scared as I stepped on to the track,” said O’Maro.
“I hadn’t taken part in a running competition for a while and it was nerve wracking competing against much older athletes.”
A member of the DSG Vienna Club, she has competed in national championships as a high jumper since she was 13 and her best height to date is 1.55m, leaving her ranked third at under-16 level in Austria.
O’Maro is originally from Nigeria, but her parents have lived in Austria for over 10 years.
UK Sport
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
