Caytlyn Sharp wins six gold medals at Victorian Country Championships in Bendigo

Sharp, 19, returned from the Victorian Country Championships at Bendigo on Sunday with an impressive medal haul, winning six para gold and an abled bronze in long jump.

Competing under the T20 disability sports classification, Sharp said she hoped to better her scores ahead of upcoming meets.

"My performances and distances weren't what I'd hoped for, but I felt pretty good. I was happy with how I placed," Sharp said. "I'll be at the Victorian champs (this month) and plan on going to nationals in Sydney. I'm working with South West Academy of Sport to secure Paralympic funding, which should help out a bit with costs."

Winning her gold medals in six disciplines - 100m, 200m, javelin, discus, shot put and long jump - Sharp's goal is remain engaged with athletics after almost 24 months of COVID-19 disruptions.

"The COVID situation has been hard, I fell back a little bit with my training," she said. "But I did a lot of events on the weekend, not just my long jump. I want to be having fun while remaining serious at the same time."

Competing under the banner of home club, Ballarat-based Eureka Athletics Club, Sharp continues to work through logistics of training two hours away from Warrnambool.

"Eureka, it's where I started," she said. "It's been good to be back, everyone's really supportive and happy to have me back. I try to train three times a week, but I've just started a new job so I've only been able to get there maybe once a week before an AVSL round on Saturday."

Meanwhile, Sharp maintained a full winter sporting schedule in 2021, making Victoria's All-Abilities netball team and playing with Old Collegians' under 18 girls football team, where she led the team's goalkicking.

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