One small leap for man. One giant leap for womankind!

The final Inter-school Athletics Meet of 2016 was held at Chispite Senior School, and my daughter had been selected to take part by virtue of having, quite accidentally and unintentionally, won an Interhouse competition the previous week.

Never one to do things by halves, she had managed to find some white oxide and in true Celtic fashion (for she does indeed have Scottish blood in her veins) had applied warpaint and battle make-up:

My daughter was not the only one who had prepared for all-out war, and several of the senior Peterhouse girls had readied themselves for the rigors of battle. They spent quite a lot of time practicing scowls and other fearsome facial contortions:

There were lots of track races, high jump, javelin, shot putt, discus and relays, and each event was competed in 5 different age groups. This is the starting bend of the 400m - and though I am not sure which age group this was, I can tell you that, for a middle-distance race, these kids were flying:

My attention was drawn to a small patch of the Kalahari Desert that had been specially imported and which now masqueraded as the the long jump pit. 6 competitors readied themselves for battle in the 'Open Long Jump', mentally preparing for the duel ahead, while studiously ignoring their fellow Leapers.

What then of the competition arrayed against my poor daughter? Scary or not? Well, to be perfectly honest, they were indeed a little scary, and even had pink shoes with nails sticking out of them. The opposing competitors looked all athletic, wiry, and perfectly capable of jumping a thousand feet - either up or along  . . .

Or both.

The looked like rabbits, and even screamed out loud as they jumped with the exertion of it all:

So . . .  who was the winning competitor in the Inter-schools Open Long Jump ?

Well, incredibly, here is the leap that won First Place - sans shoes, sans spikes, sans shouting, and sans gravity. But with warpaint!

Victory - thanks to technique, paint and attitude!

Well done for a magnificent 'Boooyinnnng'

Have a great day, all.