11-YEAR-OLD ANNA CHOSEN FOR WALES AT GAMES IN OZ
AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl has been picked to represent Wales in the Commonwealth Games – making her the youngest person to ever represent her country.
Anna Hursey, from Lakeside in Cardiff, will be 11 years, nine months and 13 days old on the day of the opening ceremony on April 4 at the Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Competing in table tennis, Anna said she’s looking forward to her first trip Down Under.
“I was really excited when I found out,” she said. “I felt special.
“My aim is to win any medal. But my dream is to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.”
Anna started playing the sport when she was just five years old, but now table tennis is an everyday part of life.
She said: “I go to school, then I come home and have 10 or 20 minutes and then I go to table tennis for three hours, then come home and rest.
“It’s hard work, but when I have a break I enjoy it.
“I’ve been playing for six years. My dad used to play and I did swimming and gymnstatics as well but I didn’t like them much.
“I like making new friends, travelling and working hard. My friends are really proud of me and excited.”
But dad Larry, 54, said the hard work starts now. “We’ve known this would be likely for some time now. Her rankings in the world are doing well.
“We’re very pleased she enjoys playing and gets a reward for all this hard work.
“We’re focused on the athletic side of it, making sure we’re focusing on helping her as much as we can to enjoy and improve and do the best that she can.”
Anna will join another 93 athletes across 11 sports who were announced by Team Wales yesterday, joining the 31 athletes already confirmed for weightlifting and para sports last year for the Games, bringing the total to 124.
Commonwealth Games 2014 swimming champions Jazz Carlin and Georgia Davies were announced as part of the squad, as were Olympic gold champions Dani King and Elinor Barker.
And two students from Cardiff University will also be representing Wales.
Medical student Lewis Oliva, 25, from Monmouthshire, has been selected in the cycling sprint, and Coral Kennerley, 23, from Aberystwyth, who is studying mechanical engineering, will compete in pistol shooting.
Lewis, 25, from Devauden in Monmouthshire, said: “This is my third Commonwealth Games and obviously it’s really exciting to be named in the team travelling to Australia. It has been a big focus for both the cycling team and me, and what has made this time around extra special is the great support I’ve received from Cardiff University – in particular, the high-performance programme and the medical school. Training has been going really well.
“The Commonwealth Games presents a huge opportunity to top this season off. It’s always extra special to pull on the Welsh jersey, a proud moment for any Welshman.”
Fellow student Coral, 23, from Aberystwyth, said she has a sense of unfinished business after illness affected her performance at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games four years ago.
“I’m really excited to be competing for Wales in my second Commonwealth Games.
“Having been hit by glandular fever two months before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, I’m determined to improve on my performance in April.
“It’s an honour to be able to represent Wales at such a big competition. It’s going to be great to see our small nation come together as a team on the other side of the world.”
Their selection follows a previous announcement that Cardiff University student Dean Bale will represent England in rifle shooting.
Helen Phillips, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Wales Board, said: “We are very excited about today’s announcement. This marks a major step towards completing the full Team Wales squad for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.”