DIGGLE ATHLETE Ayla Hewitt struck gold in the national finals of the youth development league.
The 12-year-old’s victory came in the long jump with a leap of 4.48metres while she narrowly missed out on a second success in the 150m sprint when she finished fourth.
It was the highlight of Ayla’s athletics career which began three years ago when she was talent spotted by Sale Harriers while running at the Saddleworth Village Olympics.
“Somebody involved at Sale was at the event and invited Ayla down which is how it all began,” explained dad Dave.
Ayla, a pupil at Saddleworth School, helped Sale win the northern premiership of the youth development league.
And that qualified them for the national finals that were held at the Alexandra Stadium, Birmingham, where Ayla’s successes helped Sale finish third in an event won by Edinburgh.
“This was the first time Ayla had competed in a national championship and she was delighted to win gold in the long jump and also with her performance in the 150m sprint,” explained Dave.
Ayla, who is in Sale’s Academy, trains three nights a week at the Etihad campus in Manchester where she is coached by Patrick Bell and Jess Taylor, the bronze medal winning heptathlete from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
And it is a measure of her commitment to athletics that Ayla has given up another sport as she also played for Saddleworth Netball Club.
You must be logged in to post a comment.