Laura Scott wins a silver medal at the Trans Tasman Challenge

Mt Smart Stadium might be home to the New Zealand Warriors, but last week it was a little warrior from Meadow Flat who impressed at the venue.

Eleven-year-old Laura Scott picked up a silver medal at the Trans Tasman Challenge at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium in what was the highlight of her athletics career thus far.

Scott was introduced to athletics at the age of six and soon fell in love with it. Five years on, the Oberon and District Little Athletics Centre representative has put her skills to the test against some of Auckland’s best juniors and measured up well.

“We actually all started together as a family, Laura, her older sister and younger brother, but she's the one who loves it the most and she really loves throwing - that is what she nominated for for the Trans Tasman,” Laura’s mother Lynda said.

“She went to the Trans Tasman Challenge as part of the Little Athletics New South Wales team. So it's a bi-annual competition and Laura was one of 80 athletes that went.

“They had to put in all their PBs for their events and you got selected based on your results. Anyone could nominate, it was just a great opportunity for kids to get out there and have a go.”

Scott won silver as part of the six-member NSW team which competed in the field relay in her age division. The event sees each member of the team have one shot put throw, one discus throw and one long jump attempt.

“You don't get a warm-up, you just have to do it, if you get a foul your team gets zero points. How they work out the medals is they add up the points across all members of the team,” Lynda Scott said.

“She actually did a long jump PB and that’s not what she really went for. She jumped 3.37 metres.

“You don't expect it, a silver medal, it was great, she had the time of her life and I'm just so proud of her. She really wants to continue with her athletics now.

“The wonderful thing about it is that she also got to learn a lot about New Zealand, she learned a lot about the cultural side of things.”

Scott also placed eighth in her individual shot put event with a throw of 8.13m, while it may not be long before she starts to find good results in another athletics discipline.

She trains under former Hungarian Olympian Zsuzanna Olgyay-Szabo at Sea Hawks Track and Field Academy at Homebush, and is being introduced to pole vaulting.

Given her coach placed third in that event at the 1999 World Indoor Championships, the little warrior from Meadow Flat may – literally – reach new heights.

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