sport news Aussie athlete Tiahna Skelton met hurdler Michelle Jenneke as a kid - then ... trends now Rising Aussie athletics star who received her first medal from Michelle Jenneke aged just nine ends up racing against the world-famous hurdler Life goes full circle for rising star Glamorous new hurdler met idol as a kid Jenneke still dancing in front of millions By Ric Chapman For Daily Mail Australia Published: 03:14 BST, 17 May 2023 | Updated: 03:14 BST, 17 May 2023 Viewcomments Rising Aussie athlete Tiahna Skelton resisted the temptation to perform a little jig on the start line when she fronted up to race her longtime 100m hurdles idol Michelle Jenneke earlier this year. Ten years earlier, as a nine-year-old Little As runner from Maitland, NSW, Skelton won a regional race in the 80m hurdles and first met her idol Jenneke, then a teenager, who was on hand to present her with the gold medal. Skelton was overjoyed because a couple of months earlier Jenneke first performed her famous dance on the start line while representing Australia at the 2012 World Junior Track and Field Championships in Barcelona. The cameras caught it. Her youthful exuberance, combined with her vivacious smile and model good looks, made the jig go viral and made her a global social media sensation. As a nine-year-old in Sydney NSW, hurdler Tiahna Skelton met her internet sensation idol Michelle Jenneke when she presented her with a gold medal Roll 10 years forward and the pair met again, this time as rivals vying for the national 100m hurdles title, which the dancing queen Jenneke won Two months later she had half a million followers on Instagram and was modelling. Skelton was one of those fans. Roll forward 10 years and Jenneke is still dancing on the start line and modelling while preparing for the Paris Olympics but Skelton, who now is 19, is next to her on the starting blocks. Both were vying for the Australian 100m title, which Jenneke won in 12.77 seconds with Skelton coming sixth with a time of 13.56 seconds. Jenneke's runs during the past summer have put her right back in contention and she looks certain - barring injury - to make the Australian team bound for the Paris Olympics next year. Meanwhile, Skelton is just two or three strides behind at present. She does have a second string to her bow as she is a nationally ranked 400m hurdler also. So chuffed was Skelton at being on the start line against her idol recently that she took to TikTok and Instagram, posting video of the medal ceremony and then showing her next to her idol in the national 100m hurdles final. Tiahna Skelton (pictured) has her sights set on the 2024 Paris Olympics is just a few metres behind Jenneke, who sets the Australian standard for the 100m hurdles event Skelton is pictured easily claiming the NSW Country 100m hurdles gold earlier this year Jenneke is the national 100m hurdles champion and has made a career out of modelling following her world-famous dance at the 2012 World Junior Athletics Championships Stepping up to senior ranks is proving a great learning curve for Skelton, who has won just about everything in the juniors from the under-18 Oceania gold in the 400m hurdles, to the national under-20 400m hurdles crown in 2019. Earlier this year she burst onto the national landscape by winning the open NSW Country 100m title and making the national open 100m hurdles final. She too has her focus on Paris Olympics next year. Meanwhile, Jenneke, who turns 30 next month, is in Europe training as an invited athlete in the prestigious Diamond League meets. Her best times over 100m make her a top 15 world-ranked hurdler and a promoter's dream as her jigs not only go viral but once earned her a photo shoot in Sports Illustrated's vaunted Swimsuit edition. She performed her dance at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games to thunderous applause and all cameras will be honing in on her at the Olympics, hoping for more of the same. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility