It all because of her long legs.
That is one of the main reasons Hannah Tuininga, a Grade 7 Neerlandia Public School student, credits for her success in athletics and especially track and field.
“My long legs and because of the abilities God decided to bless me with,” Tuininga said. “And if God wanted me to have these abilities it would be wrong not to use them.”
And use them she has. In her short athletic career she has enrolled in every extra curricular sport available at her school from basketball, volleyball, to badminton and most recently, track and field.
On June 2, Tuininga attended her first Zone competition for track and field as part of the Pembina Hills School Division team. Tuininga competed in the long jump, high jump, triple jump as well as the 100-metre dash and four by 100-metre relay team.
Before Tuininga could compete at the Zone competition she first had to qualify to move on at the school and divisional level by finishing in the top two in each event she competed in.
“Being at the divisional track meet (in Barrhead), for my first time, competing with all the other schools in our area, was really exciting. I qualified for zones by finishing first in five events,” she said, adding that qualifying as part of the relay team is the thing she is most proud of.
Because there was a lack of Grade 7 girl relay teams, the Neerlandia team had to compete against Grade 9 teams.
“We ended up finishing in second place in the Grade 9 division (out of seven teams) and because there were no other Grade 7 teams we were given first place for our grade level,” she said.
In St. Albert at the zone competition, Tuininga said the conditions were less than ideal.
“I remember it being overcast and really cold and everyone was wearing shorts and T-shirts,” she said, adding that the cold or nerves may have been one of the factors that allowed her to perform as well as she did.
Tuininga managed to win first place in three of the five events, she competed in.
In the high jump she cleared 145 centemetres, the long jump she jumped 4.175 metres, respectively good enough for first place. In the triple jump, Tuininga said it just wasn’t her day after she was disqualified for foot fouls.
However, perhaps the two events she is most proud of are the running events. In the qualifying heat of the 100-metres, Tuininga qualified for the finals finishing in fourth place.
“My time was better than my Barrhead (divisionals) time so I was really happy with that,” she said. “And then in the finals I once again beat my qualifying time in Barrhead, but this time I was able to finish in first place.”
In the 4x100 metre relay race Tuininga’s team finished in fifth place. “We faced some really strong competition that we were really not expecting or how to prepare for, but considering that we never ran against other Grade 7 teams before I am really proud of what we accomplished,” she said, adding she is also pleased with her overall track and field performance.
Despite taking part in athletics her entire school career, this year was the first year Tuininga competed competitively in track and field.
She said in Grades 4, 5 and 6, she took part in the school’s Physam event. The event is similar to a track meet, but along with the traditional track and field events there were sports like skipping and soccer kick.
“It was really more of a fun event with a number of the smaller schools taking part,” she said.
As for what the future holds for Tuininga’s athletic career, she plans to continue to take part in every sport she can, including track and field, because as she says “If God gives you certain abilities, you should use them.”
