FRESH from her gold medal-winning deeds at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in December, Port Stephens sprinter Elara Barnes is hungry for more success in 2026.
St Phillips Christian School student captured the imagination of the local sporting public after helping NSW capture the Under 14 Mixed Team 4 x 200m Relay National All Schools title.
The four finished with a record-breaking performance at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium in the lead up to Christmas.
Thirteen year old Elara teamed up with athletes Zac Leung (Ryde), Charlie West (Illawarra), Cruz Monzon (Doonside), George Lambousis (Port Hacking), Marnie Laurence (Eastern Suburbs), Maggie Treanor (Illawong-Revesby) and Charlotte James (Eastlakes) to secure gold in the Mixed event.
In a tremendous achievement, the NSW Mixed team were crowned Under 14 champions after flashing home in 1:38.33 seconds to set a new National All Schools record.
Fleet-footed Elara, Laurence, Lambousis and Monzon played key roles as NSW proved unstoppable in clinching the title from runners up Victoria and bronze medallists Queensland.
There was more joy for young Elara who combined with Laurence, Treanor, James, Ku-ring-gai’s Manvi Arabolu and Savannah Cox (Hills District) to also snare a bronze medal in the Women’s 4 x 100m Relay.
Finishing just behind winners Queensland and runners up Victoria with a personal best time of 48.01 seconds.
Competing in the Under 14 Girls 200m event, the Port Stephens speedster won her heat with a personal best time of 26.14 seconds to qualify for the final.
Elara achieved another personal best when she clocked 25.84 seconds to finish fourth in the final, won by NSW team mate Laurence (24.57 sec).
In doing so she was pipped for a medal by third placed Queenslander Sophie Whitfield, who posted a time of 25.42 sec to collect bronze.
Under the guidance of Newcastle’s High Performance athletics coach Vanessa Price, the talented Elara Barnes continues to blossom as a track sprinter.
By Chris KARAS
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
