Eleanor Patterson the toast of South Gippsland
ELEANOR Patterson jumped 1.92m to finish eighth in the final of the Women’s high jump at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
The gold medal was won by Russian Maria Kuchina clearing 2.01m.
Following the event she expressed disappointment in herself and said, “I expect a lot of myself.
“I was trying to relax, and I did, but it wasn’t enough. It’s disappointing,” Patterson said.
“The last couple of jumps were frustratingly close, but that’s the way this sport is.”
Asked if she had a look at her competitors after she was out of the field Patterson said, “They are the same as me, they may be older, they may be more experienced. I am training just as hard and jumping just as high.”
She might be disappointed in herself but the people of South Gippsland could not be more proud of Leongatha’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Qualifying for the final 19 year old Patterson became the youngest Australian athlete to ever make a IAAF World Championships final; a major feat in itself.
As always she thanked her supporters and particularly her coach David Green.
“I am so lucky and fortunate to have an amazing coach and he is an amazing friend as well.”
Thanking her family too she said, “I am truly blessed.”
Her Commonwealth Games gold medal came in the same year that she completed her VCE at the Mary MacKillop Catholic College in Leongatha.
She said, “Things just didn’t come together today.”
Competition at the world level, 12 months out from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio is sure to have been an experience that will place Patterson in good stead as she begins her preparations for the Olympics.
“The experience has been helpful. I know I can jump higher and do a whole lot better,” she said.
“I’m not sure what I will do in the lead up to Rio but I will work my butt off, I will work twice as hard.
“David and I will go back to the drawing board.”
Athletics Australia described Patterson as a hard taskmaster on herself and said the lessons learned in Beijing will bode well for the future and that her dedication has been rewarded by simply advancing to the final.
It said that her experience in Beijing provides the ideal taste of what is to come as the Rio 2016 Olympic Games approach.
Our winner: the youngest jumper in the field, Eleanor Patterson was upset with herself for not jumping higher than the 1.92m that left her in eighth place. She only narrowly missed clearing 1.95m.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Sep 1 2015. Filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
