Broome duo on their mettle in distant fields

It was a nerve-racking weekend for one of Broome’s sports and fitness specialists, Sam Newton, as two of his clients — local athletes Cheyne Cream and Vicki Cobby — each competed in prestigious championships at opposite ends of the country.

But nerves were quickly turned to cheers all round after both came home with two medals each and new personal best records.

Cheyne, 15, flew to Perth to compete in the All Schools State Athletics Championship on November 2 to 4, and despite never having been on a tartan track, he came away with a bronze and a silver medal for both the under-16s 100m and 200m.

The only Broome competitor, he was up against boys from established clubs throughout WA, cheered on by his parents, Melissa and Robert Cream, and his coach.

“I had a great time in Perth, it was an awesome experience racing at the stadium,” he said.

“Now I know the areas I need to work on, and I’m looking forward to being part of the WA Athletics team and going to Hobart later this month. I’m lucky to have Sam as my coach and want to thank him and my parents for all they’ve done for me.”

Cheyne’s parents had been stoked to see him compete on a bigger stage against “the city boys”.

“It turned out he stacks up pretty good, even causing a bit of an upset in the 200m by pipping local favourites to the podium,” Mrs Cream said.

The same week on the Gold Coast, Vicki Cobby knocked six seconds off her personal best to win a gold medal in the 400m race and bronze for the 60m sprint at the Pan Pacific Masters Games held at the Gold Coast City Athletics Track. Cobby has had the championships in her sights for some time and has trained hard in the lead up.

“A definite highlight of my week was training on the same track as Sally Pearson, and getting to see the intensity and determination with which she trains,” Cobby said. “Running the 400m on a ‘real’ track and actually racing against other people was so exciting.”

These performances saw Cobby and Cheyne invited to future events. At the end of this month, Cheyne travels to Hobart with State’s athletics team for the National All School Championships.

Cobby travels to Perth in March next year for in the WA Masters State Championship, but has also been invited to the 2013 National Masters Athletics Championship in Canberra.

Success in these meets could send her to Brazil for the World Masters Championship in October, 2013.

Newton couldn’t be prouder.

“I’m over the moon with how both Vicky and Cheyne have performed … and both have so much potential,” he said. “I’ve had them running around the oval with parachutes for resistance and training with the latest technology from the

US, such as ViPRs to strengthen and condition.”