She may be only young, but Charlotte Baskaran already has a career to savour.
The Caroline Springs resident is a regular fixture at Keilor Little Athletics Club where she burns up the track in the sprint races and is constantly breaking personal bests in field events.
Baskaran’s exploits have led to the 11-year-old being named Keilor club champion for the past three years in both her age group and for the club overall.
“At school I started to run in the athletics and cross-country teams,” Baskaran says.
“I started to make it to regional and state levels, so I joined Keilor Little Athletics.
“I’m still at Keilor now. I can do that until under-15s, but I’m looking at going to senior competition next year.”
Baskaran’s winning ways are no longer confined to Melbourne’s north-west.
At the recent Little Athletics Victoria state championships, the Parkwood Green Primary School grade 6 pupil dominated in the under-11s division.
She won the 400 metres and broke the Victorian record along the way.
And she claimed gold in the 200 metres to go with silver in the long jump and bronze in the 70-metre sprint.
“I was very happy with the results I was able to get,” Baskaran said.
“I knew I had trained my hardest and I put in so much effort to get there.
“I do interval training, some of it long distance then some of it sprinting. I also try to work on my stamina.”
Baskaran thanked her coach, Darren Clark, who trains her at Maribyrnong College.
If early indications are anything to go by, she could be looking at a professional career down the track.
She got a taste of handicap sprint racing at last month’s Stawell Gift.
Competing in the Stawell Little Athletics Club junior 100 metre handicap, Baskaran took out a gold medal after starting with a handicap of 14.75 metres.
“It was a good track; I really liked it,” she says. “I was very happy with how I did.”
With so much momentum behind her, Baskaran is aiming for a big 2016.
She’s hoping to make the Victorian team for the Australian schools championships later this year.
