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Hannah Elliott, a middle distance runner, who has been focusing on the 1500m and the 2km steeplechase, was recently awarded the Trisha Flett & Sally-Jane Allen Sports Scholarship at the 28th presentation of the honour last week. Hannah became the 49th young South East athlete to receive financial assistance through the scholarship program, as well as support from David Jones from Intersport, and Simon Brook from Squashbrook. The athletes that have been awarded this scholarship, have often excelled at more than one sport – just like the two girls – Trisha and Sally Jane – in whose memory the scholarship was established.

The scholarship fund was set up following a fundraiser, after the girls’ tragic deaths in a 1990 car accident, which saw the community give generously to allow the two families to set up this memorial scholarship.

Each year the nominations are assessed by a group of the region’s PE teachers and each year it is a tough task to choose a winner or winners. There were eight nominees for the 2018 scholarship representing basketball, netball, rowing, hip hop, hockey and athletics.

Hannah is a member of the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy, Little Athletics and has been her athletics age champion at Tenison Woods College for the past three years. She is part of Athletics SA’s Gold Squad, the invitation only elite talent program, and has represented the State in Cross Country since 2013, captaining the team in 2014. At national level, Hannah has consistently been ranked in the Top 10 2km steeplechase competitors and in the Top 20 for the 1500m and this year she was nominated for SA Athletics ‘Athlete of the Year’. She is the reigning State champion in both the 2km steeplechase and 1500m and was part of an Athletics SA tour to the United States where she competed in California, Nevada and Arizona and won five of her seven races. Hannah is already in discussions with US Colleges about pursuing her athletics and further study in the coming years but her ultimate goal is to represent Australia. “I am so grateful to the Allen and Flett families for providing this kind of help to young athletes,” Hannah said. “It is so generous and it will really help with everything I am trying to achieve.”

Photo supplied by: Lifestyle1 Magazine

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