Aussie athlete Tiahna Skelton met hurdler Michelle Jenneke as a kid – then ended up racing her idol
Rising Aussie track and field star who received her first medal from Michelle Jenneke, just nine years old, eventually races the world famous hurdler
- Life is round for the rising star
- Glamorous new hurdler met idol as a child
- Jenneke still dances for millions
Rising Aussie athlete Tiahna Skelton resisted the temptation to perform a minor jig on the starting line when she came forward to race against her old 100m hurdles idol, Michelle Jenneke, earlier this year.
Ten years earlier, as a nine-year-old Little As runner from Maitland, NSW, Skelton won a regional race in the 80m hurdles and first met her idol Jenneke, then a teenager, who was there to present her with the gold medal. .
Skelton was overjoyed as Jenneke first performed her famous start line dance a few months earlier while representing Australia at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona.
The cameras captured it. Her youthful exuberance, combined with her vibrant smile and good looks, made the jig go viral and make her a global social media sensation.
As a nine-year-old in Sydney NSW, hurdler Tiahna Skelton met her internet sensation idol Michelle Jenneke when she presented her with a gold medal
Roll forward 10 years and the pair met again, this time as rivals competing for the national title in the 100m hurdles, which the dance queen Jenneke won
Two months later, she had half a million followers on Instagram and was modeling.
Skelton was one of those fans.
Roll forward 10 years and Jenneke is still dancing on the starting line and modeling as she prepares for the Paris Olympics, but Skelton, who is now 19, is on the starting line next to her.
Both competed for the Australian title in the 100 metres, which Jenneke won in 12.77 seconds and Skelton finished sixth with a time of 13.56 seconds.
Jenneke’s runs over the past summer have brought her back into contention and she looks confident – barring injuries – to help the Australian team on their way to the Paris Olympics next year.
Meanwhile, Skelton is currently only two or three steps behind. She has a second string to her bow as she is also a nationally ranked 400 meter hurdler.
Skelton was so happy to be competing against her idol recently that she took to TikTok and Instagram, posted a video of the medal ceremony, and then showed her alongside her idol in the 100m hurdles national final.
Tiahna Skelton (pictured) has her sights set on the 2024 Paris Olympics and is just a few yards behind Jenneke, who is setting the Australian standard for the 100m hurdles event
Skelton is easily pictured claiming gold in the NSW Country 100m hurdles earlier this year
Jenneke is the national champion in the 100m hurdles and has made a career in modeling after her world famous dance at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The move up the ranks is proving to be a great learning curve for Skelton, who has won just about everything in the juniors, from the Oceania under-18 gold in the 400m hurdles to the national crown in the under-20 400m hurdles in 2019.
Earlier this year, she burst into the national landscape by winning the open NSW Country 100m title and making it to the final of the national open 100m hurdles.
She also focuses on the Olympic Games in Paris next year.
Meanwhile, Jenneke, who turns 30 next month, trains in Europe as an invited athlete in the prestigious Diamond League meets.
Her best times over 100 meters make her a top 15 hurdler in the world and a promoter’s dream, as her jigs not only go viral, but once earned her a photo shoot in Sports Illustrated’s critically acclaimed Swimsuit issue.
She performed her dance at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games to thunderous applause and all the cameras will be following her at the Olympics, hoping for more of the same.
