Nina Schultz wrote not only a new chapter in New Westminster high school track history, but added to some family history as well.
The 15-year-old Hyack phenom was named the first-ever outstanding female performer at the B.C. high school track and field championships from New Westminster following the school's history-making win in Langley on Saturday.
The New West Secondary junior won three events - the girls' heptathlon, high jump and triple jump, while also sharing in a fourth gold medal on the girls' 4x400 metre relay team that clinched the school's first provincial banner since the meet began in 1967.
"It's a good way to finish off a good weekend," said Schultz, who is a grandchild to the great Chinese high jumper Zheng Fengrong, who broke the world record in the event in 1957 clearing the bar in 1.77 metres using the scissor kick.
Her milestone jump made Fengrong the first Chinese woman to hold a sport world record and she was heralded in the Chinese media as "the swallow who announced that the spring of China's sports has arrived."
Schultz won the high jump in Langley with a leap of 1.75m, using the now convential Brill bend method.
"It's hard to live up to, but I think she'll be proud," said Schultz, who speaks regularly to her 77-year-old grandmother who still lives in Mainland China. "She really wanted me to go into track when I was a kid. She's really proud of that."
Since the People's Republic of China did not compete in the Olympic Games from 1952 to 1984, Fengrong was unable to compete. But her 1977 jump did break the record of 1956 Olympic champion Mildrd McDaniel of the U.S.
"It's special," Schultz said after finishing her individual events on Saturday. "At practice, I wasn't hitting any of my jumps (prior to the meet). I came in just wanting to do the best I could. I was really happy with that."
Not only did Schultz match a personal best in the high jump, she also added nearly half a metre to her previous best to win the triple jump in 11.66m.
Last week, at the combined events final, Schultz also PB'd in the long jump, winning that discipline easily with a leap of 5.72m.
"I hit a growth spurt a few years ago and since then I'm just getting stronger as an athlete," she said.
