JIMBOOMBA athlete Nathan Wilkins is officially among the world’s best in under 20s hammer throw.
Wilkins has reached qualifying standard for the 2016 World Junior Championships, after recording a throw of 69.08 metres with a six kilogram hammer at a recent Gold Coast meet.
The qualifying length for the international event is 68.93 metres with a six kilogram hammer.
Wilkins said he was thrilled to have made the qualifying throw – his personal best.
“I was very happy to throw it, I’ve been working at it for a while,” he said.
The throw earned Wilkins second place at the Gold Coast event, held on November 14, and has secured his number one ranking in the Australian standings for under 20s hammer throw.
He said he was confident of being selected for the World Junior Championships in 2016, with a decision to be officially handed down after the Australian Junior Nationals event in March.
“There’s a board of high performance coordinators who decide who they are taking so if you win the Junior Nationals and throw a qualifier, you are automatically selected,” he said.
“Athletics Australia only take two athletes per event and so far I am leading the Australian standings.”
Wilkins started training at the Jimboomba Athletics Centre at the age of 12.
He took up hammer throw at 14, after prompting from coach Ralph Newton.
“When I was 14, Ralph got in touch with an excellent hammer thrower looking at coaching and told me to give it a shot,” he said.
“Here I am four, five years later.”
Wilkins has big plans for his future with the sport.
“I am looking at going to the Olympics, the highest pinnacle of our sport is the Olympics so I’m taking it all the way,” he said.
He said hammer throw demanded dedication.
“There’s not necessarily a technique (to succeed), it’s more perseverance and training that gets you through it,” he said.
“I train six days a week.”
The World Junior Championships were to be held in Russia in July 2016, but are reportedly to be moved to a different venue in the United Kingdom.
The championships, scheduled for the first two weeks of July, would mark Wilkin’s first overseas trip with the sport.
Wilkins is looking for corporate sponsorship to attend the overseas competition.
