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By ADRIAN PROSZENKO The Sun-Herald November 29, 2009 RUN-UP or runway? Amy Pejkovic believes she won't have to choose one over the other. Pejkovic is one of Australia's most promising young track and field stars after earning a silver medal in the high jump at the IAAF World Youth Championships at Bressanone, Italy, in July. In recent times she's been juggling high jump with high fashion after strutting down some of the world's most famous catwalks as a model. The Cherrybrook athlete has already worked for Calvin Klein and Chanel in Australia and featured in glossy mags Cleo and Marie Claire. Yet Pejkovic is just as focused on high jump as she is on the high life of modelling. In fact, the St Leo's College student described the glitz and glamour of modelling life as "a part-time job, just like working at Coles". "It's working out well, I enjoy doing both," Pejkovic said. "I like the travel. Hopefully I can keep balancing both, but there might be a time where I have to choose." Pejkovic had never trained before entering her first athletics carnival at the age of nine. However, she soon found herself on the state team after excelling in triple jump, sprinting and long jump. After deciding to focus on the latter she finished just two centimetres behind gold medalist Alessia Trost of Italy at the Youth Champs with a jump of 1.85 metres. She has subsequently set a new PB of 1.86m, although mother Leanne believes there is plenty of improvement left in the talented teen. "Heaps, just look at those legs," Leanne Pejkovic quipped. While most models are stick-thin waifs, Pejkovic is proof that you can be healthy and attractive. "There's that whole thing about models eating nothing," Leanne said. "She eats like a horse, she eats the biggest amount of garbage you can imagine and she still looks good. "It's not dieting, it's pure exercising and genetics, she's very lucky like that. "It's a healthy image that would be good to be promoted on the modelling side of things." |