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Cobble Hill high jumper meets national standard

Athlete is following in Olympian father’s footsteps
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Nova Wedmann-Kent displays her ribbons from the Elwood Wylie Memorial Track and Field Meet. (Submitted by Brenda Kent)

Shortly after Nova Wedmann-Kent’s high jump at the Elwood Wylie Memorial Track and Field Meet in Nanaimo last weekend, an older athlete came running over.

Wedmann-Kent’s personal-best jump of 1.56 m, they explained, was not only good enough for a gold medal at the meet, but it also met the qualifying standard for the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships.

A student at Frances Kelsey Secondary who lives in Cobble Hill, Wedmann-Kent is coached by her mom, Brenda Kent, with Athletics Victoria. She is also following in the footsteps of her late father, Wilf Wedmann, who represented Canada in high jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and won silver in the same event at the 1971 Pan American Games in Colombia, and later became a coach and sport leader in B.C.

Wedmann-Kent is also a competitive sprinter, and set personal bests in the 100m and 200m races last weekend, placing second in the 200 and fourth in the 100m.

The Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships will take place in Sherbrooke, Quebec this August.