Nelson sets a hot pace in Australia

Tuesday 6th January 2009, 3:00PM GMT.

A JUNIOR athlete with strong Jersey roots has become the fastest 14-year-old sprinter in Australia.

Ella Nelson, the daughter of Jersey-born parents Steve and Julie (née Thompson), has won every major State championship event in the past two seasons and been crowned Australian national champion at 100 and 200 metres.

Ella (pictured), who this season also claimed two gold medals at the recent Pacific Schools Games in Canberra, is now ranked as the top female 200m runner in New South Wales with a wind-assisted time of 23.89, which had it stood would have broken the Australian record.

Her parents emigrated to Sydney more than 20 years ago but are still frequent visitors to the Island, where Julie’s parents, Ann and John Thompson, and Steve’s father, John, still live.

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