TWO members of the Western Athletics club have been selected to represent Australia at the bi-annual Oceania Games in Cairns next month.
Jumpers Daniel Pagnoccolo and Kristen Smith were supposed to be on a training camp in Malaysia and Singapore from 26 June to 6 July, with eight other members of their training squad but learned that they had been chosen to compete in the Oceania Championships on 27-29 June.
“It will be a great experience and honour to compete at an international competition representing our country,” Pagnoccolo said.
Smith, an Altona Meadows resident, was equally ecstatic. “As soon as I read the email saying I had been selected it was one of the happiest moments of my life, I had always dreamed of one day representing my country but I did not expect it to be so soon,” she said.
Werribee’s Pagnoccolo, recently named Western Athletics’ club champion, will compete in the triple jump and long jump while Kristen will do the high jump at Cairns. The event is staged every two years and involves 22 countries around the Pacific.
Both were quick to thank their sprint and horizontal jumps coach, former Indian decathlon champion Errol Hart, and, in Kristen’s case, her high jump coach, for their tireless efforts in getting them to the stage where they could qualify for international competition.
“I felt a sense of relief but also excitement. It was a great feeling as I knew all my hard work and dedication to training over the last few years had paid off. I could not wait to tell my family and friends, especially my two coaches who have guided me this far,” Smith said.
“I’m not really sure what to expect but I aim to represent my country with great pride and do the best I can.”
Both athletes are planning to go to both the training camp and the championships even though it will mean buying a one-way ticket from Cairns to Singapore.
“Both events are unmissable,” Pagnoccolo said.
Ironically, Athletic Australia’s announcement that they made the Oceania championships came as they sought permission to hold a sausage sizzle at Victoria University’s Footscray campus to raise funds for the Singapore trip.
“We have held sausage sizzles at Bunnings, trivia nights, a disco, raffles and even collected scrap metal over the last five months to raise funds for our training camp trip,” Smith said.
The training camp involves eight other athletes from Hart’s squad who live in the Williamstown, Seabrook, Point Cook, Hoppers Crossing and Werribee.
The group trains with Western Athletics at the VU athletic complex in Hoppers Lane, Hoppers Crossing.
Pagnoccolo and Smith have competed at national level and have state medals in jumps events to mark their prowess and have been members of state champions in Athletics Victoria’s annual teams event with Western Athletics.
