Students from all seven Los Altos School District elementary schools competed in the 61st annual Junior Olympics Saturday at Los Altos High School, celebrating one another’s athleticism and even breaking some decades-old records along the way.
According to organizers, the event symbolizes more than just the athletic achievements of fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade LASD students, however – it takes members of the entire local schools community to pull off the competition and encompasses the passion of students, parents and staff members from past to present, including the Los Altos Educational Foundation, which has raised $2.5 million for district programs this year.
“All seven schools worked together to make it happen, and I think the collective effort for our broader community really makes this event feel special,” parent volunteer Kerry Bonar said.
Future participants cheered their schoolmates on from the stands, parents teared up watching their children compete in their last Junior Olympics and past participants who are now in high school returned to volunteer for the day.
“I think everyone I talked to circled back to the same feeling of appreciation and gratitude for the amazing community we live in and events like this that bring out the best in everyone,” Bonar said. “Good sportsmanship was encouraged at all pre-event pep rallies, and I think that was reflected in the support everyone felt for each other during the day.”
Students set three records Saturday, the first of which was broken by only 0.2 seconds in the sixth-grade boys 1,320 run. Liam Tassa of Springer School finished the race in 3:56.8, breaking the previous record from 2017.
In jump rope, Minkyu Jang of Covington School broke the sixth-grade boys record with 127 jumps within 30 seconds, besting the previous record of 125 jumps shared by students in 1984 and 2013.
In the long jump, Caroline Mortimore of Covington School set a new record for the sixth-grade girls by jumping 95 inches, topping the 89.5 inches from 1989.
In addition to breaking records, students overcame hardships. Gardner Bullis School’s fifth-grade boys blue relay team anchor Ziggy Mullens lost his shoe during the hand-off but managed to sprint to the end with just one shoe, securing fourth place for his team. Ziggy’s friend retrieved the shoe for him and ran it to the finish line.
For full event results, visit lasdjo.com/2023-results.
