Arantxa King is queen of the world?s young long jumpers!

At a time when Bermuda is on a sporting high following qualification for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the Island yesterday soared to unprecedented heights as this phenomenal athletic talent outclassed the competition in Marrakesh, Morocco, to claim her country?s first-ever medal in the six-year history of the IAAF World Youth Championships ? and the gold at that.

The lithe teenager took the girls? final by storm on the last evening of the five-day meet for the best athletes, aged 15-17, from across the globe, hurling herself 6.39 metres into the sandpit on the third of her six attempts.

It was a new personal best (PB) for the Massachusetts-based King who eclipsed the 6.14 metres she had jumped 24 hours earlier in the qualifying round to secure a berth among yesterday?s final 12.

Try as they did the best of Europe, Australia and the Caribbean could not oust the Bermuda-born wonder from the number-one position as Eloyse Lesueur of France ? who advanced to the final with the second-best jump of 6.40 metres in Saturday?s preliminaries ? had to settle for silver with 6.28 metres while Romania?s Cornelia Deiac captured bronze with 6.25 metres.

?I was mostly trying to get a PB from the event. I stayed focused and motivation helped me a lot,? said King in a brief quote posted on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website.

Contacted by phone, King?s mother, former Island athlete Branwen Smith-King, was overwhelmed by her 15-year-old daughter?s magnificent achievement in her maiden outing on the world stage.

?It?s quite impressive . . . to be able to rise to the occasion on the world scene. This is only her first outing on the world stage,? said the Tufts University athletics coach, lauding King?s back-to-back PBs on the weekend.

Smith-King had been anxiously monitoring the meet?s website when suddenly the long jump results popped up.

?I clicked on the link and saw ?BER? and I said what other country has ?BER?? It was like a half-second before I realised ?Oh that?s Bermuda! That?s Arantxa!?,? she said, recalling her reaction.

?I was quite stunned at first but I?ve learned not to be surprised by anything that Arantxa does. My surprise is just at the fact that she is doing it so young, so soon in her career.?

Having spoken to King after the straight-A student qualified for the final and again yesterday morning, Smith-King revealed she told the five-foot-ten-inch competitor ?to go have fun and do her best? in the final and not worry about how she placed.

?We were ecstatic that she went over 20 feet (6.14 metres) in qualifying for the final. That was tremendous and I figured whatever she did today would be icing on the cake.?

Still she gave King some advice that may well have proven decisive.

?I was telling her to focus on three things: drive off the board, use her arms and keep her heels up as long as she could for extension,? elaborated King?s mother.

Describing the gold medallist as ?low keyed but nervous? prior to the final, Smith-King said she felt King put added pressure on herself to make up for what she considered a disappointing triple jump.

?I think that gave her added incentive and she dug deep. Hopefully this will inspire other kids to stick with it.?

The joy in the King household extended to relatives here, including her father Adrian King who is on vacation. However, he was not at his mother-in-law?s house in Spanish Point when telephoned.

?Oh, he was just so happy when he got the news this afternoon. We?re so excited. We?re over the moon,? declared King?s grandmother Hyacinth King, expressing the family?s absolute delight.

?I?m very proud of Arantxa, to see her reach this standard is wonderful.?