LIMESTONE Coast middle-distance runner Hannah Elliott has become the latest recipient of the highly-regarded Trisha Flett and Sally-Jane Allen Sports Scholarship.
Elliott holds the state title in two events, was this year nominated for Athletics SA Athlete of the Year and is training with two elite athletics squads, now focused on the 2km steeplechase and 1500m track events.
Elliott took home the scholarship at the 28th presentation of the honour last week.
She became the 49th young South East athlete to receive assistance through the scholarship program, which provides financial assistance through the scholarship fund, as well as support from Intersport’s David Jones and Squashbrook’s Simon Brook.
From netball to athletics, karate to squash and everything in between, the athletes to have been awarded the scholarship, have often excelled at more than one sport – just like the two girls Trisha and Sally-Jane – in whose memory the scholarship was established.
The fund was set up following the girls’ tragic deaths in a 1990 car accident, which saw the community give generously to allow the two families to set up the memorial scholarship.
Each year the nominations are assessed by a group of the region’s PE teachers and each year it is a tough task to choose a winner, or in so many cases winners.
In fact, in 17 of the 27 previous years, the judges have been unable to split two or three athletes for the award.
There were eight nominees for the 2018 scholarship representing sports including basketball, netball, rowing, hip hop, hockey and athletics.
Elliott is a member of the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy, Little Athletics and has been her athletics age champion at Tenison Woods College for the past three years.
She is part of Athletics SA’s Gold Squad, part of the invitation only elite talent program and has represented the state in cross country since 2013, captaining the team in 2014.
At national level, Elliott has consistently been ranked in the top 10 2km steeplechase competitors and in the top 20 for the 1500m.
She is the reigning state champion in both the 2km steeplechase and 1500m and was part of an Athletics SA tour to the United States where she competed in California, Nevada and Arizona and won five of her seven races.
Elliott is already in discussions with US colleges about pursuing her athletics and further study in the coming years, but her ultimate goal is to represent Australia.
“I am so grateful to the Allen and Flett families for providing this kind of help to young athletes,” she said.
“It is so generous and it will really help with everything I am trying to achieve.”
2018 Nominees: Hannah Elliott, Emily Close, Liam Delaney, Shakayla Gordon, Toby Maddern, Keryl Ousey, Oli Thomson, Brooke Tonon.
