Bella Earl has a national championship under her belt at just 13. Photo/Supplied
Bella Earl has a national championship under her belt at just 13. Photo/Supplied
Whangarei has a new national champion as 12-year-old Bella Earl claimed gold at the Athletics New Zealand annual Cross Country Championships.
The Parua Bay School student took out the 13 and under girls division, running an exceptionally strong race in a quality field with some of the best cross-country runnersin the country.
Second-place runner Myah Houthuizen, from Gisborne Harriers, led from the gun but was passed by Earl just after the half-way point and came home six seconds back at the finish. Olivia Hala, from Tauranga, was third.
The Auckland Domain course, the same course that was used for the World Masters Games in April, was heavy after the recent rains and this made times slow for all athletes.
Earl's time of 7:34 for the 2km circuit was remarkable given the wet conditions. The girl's race was a combined race with the 13 and under boys and Earl was just five places behind the first boy to finish in a field of 50 runners.
Earl showed maturity beyond her years running against more experienced runners in her first year as a competitive athlete with Hatea Harriers.
She has been using the Whangarei parkrun, held every Saturday morning from Te Matau A Pohe Bridge, as training for the Harrier season and this showed up with her strong showing over the Auckland Domain circuit.
Earl was using the Cross Country Championship distance as preparation for the AIMS Games in September and her win on Sunday will send a strong message to other Intermediate School runners that she is the one to watch in Tauranga.
