Ella hop skips and jumps her way to state title

Ella Forde jumped 8.53 metres to win the girls 9-10 years triple jump at the School Sport Victoria State Primary Track and Field Championships at Lakeside Stadium last week by 3cm.

Only one other competitor, Billie Judd, had managed to jump further than the 8.50m mark in the lead-up to the event.

Ella’s father, John, said he spent some time chatting to Judd, who was quite complimentary of the Tongala 10-year-old’s performance.

“I asked him who that was talking to his daughter and he said it was her personal coach,” he said.

“Funny to think that Ella had come from jumping off grass and come on to the good track to produce this result.

“Her winning jump was actually a little less than what she had been doing in practice on the good tracks we had visited.”

Ella beat competitors from Bentleigh, Black Rock, Lysterfield, Haileybury College (where Billie Judd is a student) and several other well-known Melbourne primary schools to claim the crown.

The athlete that finished 12th in the final, Evie Williams, goes to St Mary’s Primary School at Echuca.

Ella had already made state level this year for two other sports, tennis and cross country, and is not the first member of the family to cover herself in glory. Elder sister Tilly has represented the school at state level multiple times and was beside her sister at Lakeside Stadium last week.

Twelve-year-old Tilly competed in the girls 12-13 years long jump and after qualifying in seventh place for the final improved her ranking to fifth with a 4.21m jump.

The winner jumped 5.12m, breaking the state record.

Neither of the Forde girls are Little Athletics members, but have a natural gift for most sports.

Their physical education teacher father and a mother who herself competed at state level in triple jump when at primary school, provide the genes for success.

Ella turned 10 in July and had just won a tennis tournament at Bendigo the weekend before last week’s state track and field titles.

“She is a bit strong for the 10-year-olds, so we entered her into the 12 and under division — and she won,” John said.

Ella, who plays tennis for fun, contested the final against a girl who had played in 150 tournaments, beating her in straight sets to take out the title.

The eldest of the Forde children, 14-year-old Jack, went to state titles for triple jump (finishing top 10), competed in state tennis in 2022, finishing ninth, and came second in the state for race walking last year. And when Ella is done competing at primary school the Fordes will still have seven-year-old Maya and three-year-old Eli to rise through the ranks.

Maya is already making waves and was the age champion for Tongala Primary School at this year’s athletics carnival. She has also just started playing competitive tennis.

In the meantime, John is expanding his “midas touch” to students at Kyabram P-12 College as a PE teacher, and is heading a program nationwide to assist interested high-school aged students in becoming qualified personal trainers.

“We are encouraging kids who are passionate about health and fitness to get into the industry, so they can work in the gyms in the city while they are at university. It is an extra qualification and an alternative to working in hospitality,” he said.

• St Augustine’s Kyabram had its share of success when three students featured in finals.

Mason Kilpatrick finished 15th in the boys 11-year-old 80m hurdles and Ava Collins was 12th in the 60m hurdles event for 11-year-old girls.

Noah Phelan finished 11th in the boys 12-13 years high jump with a leap of 1.39m, after qualifying with a 1.45m jump.

A former teacher at Tongala Primary School, Dylan Cuttriss, was also on hand to witness Ella’s feat. He was there to watch his son, Orly, compete in the boys 9-10 years 800m.