Malina Bohlmann breaks 43-year long jump record

BRISTOL — Newfound Regional High School track and field athlete Kelli Kemery set her school's long jump record by leaping 15 feet, 11 inches in 1979. For over four decades, Kemery's record stood unbroken, until now.

Malina Bohlmann, a rising junior athlete at Newfound broke the record by four inches in April.

“I broke this record two meets ago in Lebanon. I jumped 16 feet, three inches,” Bohlmann recalled. “I do a seven step approach, which all together is 14. It's seven lefts. I jump off my left foot.”

Bohlmann only started training track last year, but has proven to be a talented athlete.

“By the end of that year, at the last track meet, I got within a fourth of an inch, so I knew I was gonna get it either this year or next year,” Bohlmann said. “I didn't realize when I jumped that I got it."

Long jump isn't the only area where Bohlmann has shown talent. Now she's looking to break the school's high jump record of five foot, two inches.

“My personal record is four foot 10, so I'm four inches [away],” Bohlmann said. “It depends how physically well I am, and how much I can focus on high jump specifically, but I think either this year or next year is the goal.”

“Malina's just an amazing athlete. She's a natural at it, she picks up on things really fast,” said jump coach Mariah Haley. “We were doing triple jump the other day, and she only had a couple of questions and picked it up really fast, so it was awesome to witness her break the record too.”

Jake Morel, another of Malina's jumping coaches, weighed in on the longevity of the previous record set by Kemery.

“There's been a ton of really phenomenal athletes that have come through this school,” Morel said. “I think some records are put to a certain height for others and it just becomes very difficult and it just takes a special person to break that record, and I think this year and last year, Newfound has that special person.”

Kemery congratulated Bohlmann in person on May 2.

“Athletics for me taught me lots of things I brought into my adult life: perseverance, determination, setting goals, and confidence,” Kemery said. “I hope that Malina takes that into her adult life and 40 years from now, she gets to stand and congratulate someone like I am.”

The two athletes met on Mills Oval, an athletics field named after Kemery's former coach Earl Mills, who also showed up to congratulate Bohlmann.

“We didn't have a track for 20 years, we had to use parking lots,” said Mills, who coached at Newfound for 45 years. “The first year we got this was 1990. My wife and I slept on the track, we were so excited to be out here, but I love track and field, there's so much to do. Eighteen events. You don't cut kids. Everyone finds their niche.”