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Elizabeth Elmassian Photo Credit: AOC
Junior golfers Elizabeth Elmassian (NSW) and Brett Coletta (VIC) will represent Australia in golf at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China in August.There may be a World Cup and a few Commonwealth Games medals to win over the next two months, but come August 16, sporting eyes can shift to the next generation in Australian sport.Under the guidance of Olympic Champion Susie O’Neill, 89 Australian teenagers will travel to Nanjing to represent the green and gold at the second summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
“I hope they do their absolute best in the sporting arena. But I also want them to support each other, cheer one another on and be proud to wear the Australian tracksuit,” eight-time Olympic medallist O’Neill said.
“I hope the Team will have a positive experience in what will be their first contact with the Olympic movement.”
For many, this will be the first time they pack the golf clubs, rugby boots or archery bows for an international multisport competition. Australians will feature in 23 of the 28 sports on the YOG program including golf and rugby sevens- the two new sports on the Rio 2016 Olympic program.
Aged 14 to 18, the Aussies are competing in most of the medal winning sports from the London Olympics including athletics, canoe/kayak, hockey, rowing, sailing, swimming and triathlon as well as archery, badminton, beach volleyball, boxing, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon, shooting, table tennis, tennis, wrestling and weightlifting.
The majority of athletes are from New South Wales (33), followed by Queensland (26), Victoria (12), Western Australia (9), South Australia (7) and Tasmania and ACT with one apiece.
“The next two months is all about each athlete doing the best they can every single session. It is about giving 110 per cent each day and not thinking too much about the Youth Olympics at this stage,” O’Neill said.
“Hopefully when the athletes arrive in Nanjing they will know they can look back and know they have prepared as well as they could have and can relax and enjoy the competition.”
Blog: Elizabeth Elmassian reflects on TAS Open Win
Seventeen year old Elizabeth Elmassian reflected on her experience as the 2014 Elvie Whitesides 72-Hole Stroke Play Champion. Elizabeth, a member of The Australian Golf Club, came from behind toppling overnight leader Hannah Green from WA by one stroke. She knew she had to birdie the last hole to win and rolled in the 30 foot putt to secure her victory, winning her first National Ranking event.
4th February 2014 – I arrived in Launceston, Tasmania and was collected from the airport by Golf Tasmania Manager Stuart Eaton. After a ten minute drive, we arrived at the Country Club Tasmania Golf Resort and were ushered through the spiral door to front reception by the bellboys. I settled in and had a practice round. Despite the dry weather of Launceston, the golf course was in good condition.
5th February – I played with Jane and Gill from Tasmania in the Sponsors Pro Am. It was a great day and we had a lot of fun together. Jane finished 3rd in the Stableford beating Gill on a count back, whilst I took home honours in the women’s stroke event.
6th February – Day 1 of the Tournament: Kris Barkway flew in the night before and caddied for me. It was an ordinary first day. I shot five over. So ordinary, that I can barely remember much of the round. At the end of the round I made use of the facilities by having a hot cold recovery session.
7th and 8th February – Two days of ordinary golf again!—shooting one over each day. This consisted of four doubles and six 3-putts which left me four shots behind going into the final round.
A little practice and a game of tennis left me ready to go into the final round.
9th February – I went into my last round knowing that I had nothing to lose. The conditions were windy so I knew it was going to be difficult; I had to just go for every shot. The round started off with a 3-putt on the short par three from 20 feet. I didn’t let this get to me and birdied the next hole. I finally birdied the daunting 9th hole which I had double bogeyed the previous day. After facing my fear I knew I had nothing to lose.
I bogeyed my 17th hole and went into the 18th feeling that I needed to birdie the last hole to have a chance. I bombed my rescue down the middle and hit my seven iron leaving myself a downhill putt. As I stood over the ball, in the back of my mind I knew I needed to make the putt.
As the ball left the putter it began racing towards the hole. My heart was pounding and escalated when the ball hit the back of the hole and dropped. Mixed emotions arose and I had no idea how to react, but I knew that I was in with a chance. In such conditions, one under was a pretty good score.
I handed my scorecard in and waited…..
The feeling was amazing. I had won! The day before had left me disheartened. I doubled the 17th to finish one over, but the feeling of coming back from behind allowed me to believe that anything is possible. I was so happy that I was representing New South Wales, and was able to bring home a win. There were many ups and downs during the week but despite this I ensured I seized every opportunity I was given.
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