The village of Long Flat near Wauchope will soon boast an athletics champion.
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Nathan Graham has swept all before him in New South Wales competition where he remains undefeated in three different competitions.
He is currently the champion in each of the senior athletics, Little Athletics and schools competitions.
The 14-year-old attends Wauchope High School and recently attended the Australian Athletics Championships at Homebush in Sydney.
He came away with an impressive two silver medals.
In the under 16s javelin throw, Graham threw a personal best of 50.27 metres and was leading all the way until the final throw.
In a nail-biting finish, he eventually missed the gold medal by a mere nine centimetres.
This result saw him claim back-to-back silver medals after claiming silver in Perth the previous year.
The youngster also showed his athletic versatility by claiming a silver medal in the 200-metre hurdle, with a personal best of 26.91 seconds.
And his career is beginning to take off after being invited to take part in the Australian Little Athletics under 15s camp held at the Australian Institute of Sport.
The high achievers camp was for all state champions for each of the disciplines.
“I am really comfortable at that level and the training has really helped me in my recent competitions,” the teenager said.
“Following the camp, I lengthened my run up and incorporated a longer stride.
“I took up the javelin when I started attending Little Athletics at Wauchope’s Blackbutt Oval each Friday night.
“Some of the parents would give me advice on how to throw the javelin – it is just something I enjoy doing.”
The rising athlete acknowledged that, one day, he would have to decide between javelin and hurdles.
But for now he was happy doing both.
Some of the parents would give me advice on how to throw the javelin – it is just something I enjoy doing.
- Long Flat athlete Nathan Graham
“I will definitely continue with the javelin,” he added.
Although he regularly attends spring training sessions with Port Macquarie’s Wayne Whealy during the summer months, he is essentially left on his own to continue to improve his javelin-throwing skills.
“I just go out in the backyard and throw the jav,” he said.
While he continues to find a javelin coach to maintain his level of expertise, Graham has an eye on future world athletics championships.
However, to qualify he will have to throw an entry level 68 metres to reach the world stage.
