Oliver runs to record glory

OLIVER Ngaboyisonga is taking great strides on the running track.

The 12-year-old Clifton Springs Primary School pupil recently won the 100-metre final in the State Track and Field Championships, beating a Victorian sprinting record that dates back to 1988.

The record stood at 12.25 seconds, but Oliver beat that by one hundredth of a second on October 30 with 12.24 seconds.

He also came second in the 200-metre final.

“I just think of winning the race and go out hard,” Oliver said.

Assistant principal Ben McCredden said the great thing about the championships was that it was streamed live on the internet, so for each of Oliver’s events, the whole school was watching and cheering him home.

Oliver also smashed another record at the Victorian All Schools Track and Field Championships at the weekend.

In the under 14 age group, Oliver finished fourth in the 200-metre final with a time of 25.19 seconds, beating the previous primary school record with his personal best of 25.33.

Oliver will now represent Victoria in the 10th Pacific Schools Games in Adelaide next month.

He will receive his Victorian uniform next week and has several training sessions with his Victorian team-mates over the next month.

He will compete in the 100-metre, 200-metre and 4×100-metre relay at this event.

Oliver’s wins come with basically no formal training, having joined Bellarine Athletics Club just four weeks ago.

A football player for the Portarlington Demons, he said he hoped to get into the Olympics one day or play AFL footy.

Mr McCredden said Oliver embodied the school’s value of “Excellence” by striving to be the best he could be in his running.

“However, the best part has been how humble he has been and the way he has shared his success with his schoolmates and teachers,” he said.