Coimbatore: Students of Coimbatore school bagged gold, silver and bronze medals in the State athletics championships held at Tirunelveli on June 9 and10.

M Sathish Kumar and A Kiruthika of Rathinapuram Corporation School brought pride to the district. This was the first time in Tamil Nadu that school students bagged medals in the open category at the State-level competition. Sathish and Kiruthika participated in the open category and competed with national athletes, said coach Vairavanathan.

Sathish won gold in 5,000 meters and silver in 10,000 meters and Kiruthika bronze in 10,000 meters. They were trained under Vairavanathan at Genesis Sports Foundation.

“I have been practising for the last two months to compete in this tournament. I was little nervous to compete with seniors who were well experienced. First I ran 10,000 meters in which I bagged silver. Vairavanathan Sir motivated me and under his guidance the next day I grabbed gold in 5,000 meters. All credit goes to my coach who has been very helpful in many ways. I thank my parents for their support.”

Sathish (17) won the gold clocking 15:15 minutes and in 10000 meters it was 32:09 minutes.

Kiruthika (15) bagged a bronze in 10,000 meters with a timing of 42:51.

“With customised guidance and their persistent effort we could make this happen. I am sure this event is just a beginning in their illustrious career. I thank each and every one of you who supported us and stood by our side to make this happen. This success is not an overnight phenomenon; it’s the result of continuous daily improvement,” said Vairavanathan. He added that Sathish was selected for the national level competition this year.