Struthers (17) has won medals at the New Zealand secondary schools championships in both disciplines over the last three years.
At the national secondary schools championships in Auckland in 2005, Struthers won gold medals in the junior girls hammer throw and the 100m.
Over the past two years she has won a silver and bronze medal in the senior girls 100m and could add golds to her collection in the 100m and hammer throw next December.
Struthers again proved her skills at the annual Otago and Southland secondary schools athletics championships at the Caledonian Ground on Saturday when she won the senior girls hammer throw (35.56m) by a massive 8m, the shot put (10.36m) and 100m (12.84sec).
She was second in the 200m (26.05sec) to Southland's Rebecca Gibson (St Peters, Gore), who won in 25.94sec.
Struthers' unusual combination of events marks her as an athlete with huge potential.
‘‘I don't see it as unusual,'' Struthers said. ‘‘The events complement each other. The throwing events give me leg strength that I use in the sprints.''
Struthers started athletics with the Taieri Athletics Club's children's section at age 7 but was introduced to the hammer throw only five years ago.
She is coached by Raylene Bates, the manager of the New Zealand athletics team that will travel to the Beijing Olympic Games.
‘‘Bethany is strong, fast and explosive and has a huge potential,'' Bates said. ‘‘We are just nurturing her along at the moment and not pushing her too hard.''
The other notable performance at the champs came from Leslie Taylor (Otago Boys), who won three senior boys titles: 300m hurdles (40.80sec), 110m hurdles (16.21sec) and a personal best 400m (51.66sec) when he blitzed the field.
His best performance came in the 110m hurdles in which he reversed the result of the Otago championships when he pushed last week's winner, Teryn McLaren (Kings), into second place.
Daniel Balchin (Kings) delivered one of the best tactical races of the day when he gingered up the pace with two laps to go in the senior boys 1500m then increased the pace with a sustained burst over the last 450m to win by 6sec in 4min 15.68sec.
Balchin also won the 2km steeplechase in 6min 50.20sec and was third in the 3000m in 9min 13.54sec.
That race, the best of the championships, was won by Bryce Morgan (Otago Boys) in 9min 09.27sec from Shaun Burgess (James Hargest), 9min 10.70sec.
Maddy McKinlay (Otago Girls) was dominant in the girls under 15 grade and won three titles: 100m (13.06sec), 200m (26.65sec) and javelin (26.42sec).
Other sprint doubles were gained by Guy Woodhouse (Kavanagh) with his 100m (11.33sec) and 200m (23.44sec) in the boys under 15 grade, Devon Helm (Bayfield) in the girls under 16 100m (12.86sec) and 200m (26.29sec), and Todd Johnston (Otago Boys) in the boys under 16 100m (11.09sec) and 200m (22.53sec)
Southland athletes performed with credit, the best being Glen Ballam (Southland Boys), who won the senior boys 800m (2min 01.54sec), javelin (53.21m) and was second in the 1500m (4min 21.21sec).
His schoolmate Matthew Robinson won the senior boys sprint double in the 100m (11.27sec) and 200m (22.80sec). He also won the long jump with 6.58m.
Ben Graham (Gore) won the senior boys high jump (1.89m), and New Zealand secondary schools champion Todd Swanson (James Hargest) won the triple jump with 13.59m.
Christina Taylor (Southland Girls) broke the open girls 2km steeplechase record by 2min 48sec with a time of 7min 11.96sec, and the girls under 16 3000m by 39sec with a time of 10min 25.89sec. She also won the 1500m in 4min 54.96sec.
William Hubber (Central Southland College) broke the open boys hammer throw record by 3m with his throw of 47.76m. He also won the senior boys shot put with 14.56m.
The first two place-getters in the girls open 2000m walk both broke the record. Fran Myers-Baird (Otago Girls) won in 10min 42.02sec from Caitlin O'Brien (St Hildas) 11min 11.43sec.
Other records were gained by: Toby Batchelor (John McGlashan), boys under 14 3000m (10min 06.82sec), Anna Kean (Bayfield) girls under 14 800m (2min 22.22sec), Todd Johnston (Otago Boys) boys under 16 200m (22.53sec); the Otago Boys under 16 4x100m relay team of Todd Johnston, Toby Flett, Dillon Todd and Kane Russell (43.95sec).
The relay team beat the Otago Boys 1991 record and Kean beat a 1985 record. Matthew Aitken (Otago Boys) won six AWD titles, with his best performance the 200m in 33.58sec.
