Don't let her age fool you.
Thirteen-year-old Yvonne van Baarle from Heriot, West Otago, is a force to be reckoned with.
This year at Blue Mountain College's annual athletics day, she smashed some long-held records in both track and field.
In the 100m and 200m sprint, she broke records set in 1989 and 1980 respectively, running the former in 13.87sec and the latter in 30.02sec.
In the javelin, her favourite skill, she beat the 2005 record by a whopping 10.80m.
Not content with that, she went all out in the high jump, beating the 2004 record by jumping 1.39m.
Then at the Otago-Southland Athletics Championships, Yvonne bested herself again in the javelin, throwing 27.02m.
This broke a 34-year-old record for this meet of 26.85m, set in 1978.
Yvonne's athletic ability was further proven at Easter when she qualified for the 12-13 year age group Interprovincial Athletics in the North Island.
Competing in the 100m sprint, long jump, shot put and discus, she was placed seventh in long jump and ninth in both shot put and 100m - a major achievement against huge competition.
Unfortunately, this competition did not include javelin events. And also unfortunately, Yvonne was battling a knee injury at the time.
Yvonne says that competing in the Interprovincials has really motivated her to continue with athletics.
Her competitive nature means she enjoys the challenge of contest.
Other than that, the chief draw is meeting new people. She made lots of friends in the Southland team during the Interprovincial Athletics.
Although she excels at every event she competes in, her favourite event is javelin. Yvonne is committed to her sports. She doesn't even dislike training.
"You can only achieve your best by training hard," she says.
The only part of athletics she doesn't like is driving more than an hour to and from training in Invercargill, she says.
Despite already having broken long-standing records and travelled to the North Island for competition, Yvonne is only just beginning.
She is currently training for the javelin, practising at home with her own apparatus.
This winter will also see her start weekly sprint training in Invercargill.
Taking up what little free time remains are her other favourite pursuits of playing netball in the Eastern squad and horse riding - also at a competitive level.
Beyond being an excellent athlete, Yvonne is also talented in many other areas.
Last year she was named one of our Rotary Young Achievers for her success in many aspects of college life.
She led the year 8 debating team, which was runner-up in the Southland Debating Competition and gained general excellence in her form class.
In addition, she had a major role in the junior musical production which she carried off with flair.
Yvonne's dedication to whatever she takes up provides a positive role model for other young pupils.
Where she goes from here may not yet be determined, but one thing is certain: Yvonne will be a talent to watch in the coming years.
• By Whina Pomana, Year 13, Blue Mountain College
