![Warrnambool's Grace Kelly won gold at the Athletics Victoria track and field championships in the under-20 100-metre final. Picture supplied Warrnambool's Grace Kelly won gold at the Athletics Victoria track and field championships in the under-20 100-metre final. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/justine.mc%40fairfaxmedia.com.au/b06d56f5-2c65-40a2-a6ad-8191ca6ffb30.jpg/r0_0_3024_4032_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
TEENAGE sprinting sensation Grace Kelly is preparing for a national gold medal tilt after more success at state level.
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The Warrnambool competitor won her sixth 100-metre gold medal racing against Victoria's best on Saturday, February 24.
Kelly, 17, snared gold in under-20 age group as a bottom-age prospect at the Athletics Victoria track and field championships at Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne.
She has also won the 100m in the under 14, under 15, under 16, under 17 and open groups.
Kelly, whose career-best is 11.74 seconds, clocked 12.18 seconds in the under-20 final.
She said it was humbling to think she'd won six Victorian 100m titles.
"It's a super cool achievement I think, especially winning bottom-age," she told The Standard.
"It was definitely something I wanted to say I'd done. It was a cool experience - to say I am a six-time state champion is really cool."
The Emmanuel College student, who is balancing year 12 with a rigorous training program, said she was comfortable with how she'd started the 2024 season.
"I had some confidence, I knew I was in good form," Kelly said.
"I think the main goal of the weekend was to just honestly have fun. Last year I did open states so that was a more-pressured environment so I think this year I wanted to go in and have fun and hopefully get the win.
"I took a step back this year and focused on my own age group."
![Warrnambool sprinter Grace Kelly is targeting the Athletics Australia national championships in April. Picture by Eddie Guerrero Warrnambool sprinter Grace Kelly is targeting the Athletics Australia national championships in April. Picture by Eddie Guerrero](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/justine.mc%40fairfaxmedia.com.au/df8eb82f-a170-43d9-87bb-3e700203f9a2.jpg/r0_0_5603_3735_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Australian championships in Adelaide in April will give Kelly the chance to notch a world under-20 junior qualifying time (11.78 seconds) in the 100m.
Kelly, whose best result at national level is silver as an under-17 runner, will race in the under-20 age group.
Absorbing the pressure is an area the teenager, who travels to Ballarat once a week for specialised training, is working on.
"I think the time over the weekend (at states) was definitely not what I wanted but I still have time for nationals to work on that," she said.
"I know I'm in good form, I'm running well at training. I think it's just about not putting so much pressure on myself when I am competing.
"I tend to sometimes get in my own head but that's something I am working on and hopefully by the time nationals comes around we can produce a fast time."