Way to go!
05 Jul 2017
Year 12 students Sam King and Cody House were thrilled to represent New Zealand at the Oceania Athletics Area Championships, held in Suva, Fiji, from Wednesday 28 June to Saturday 1 July. “It was epic. Totally awesome,” says Cody.
It was the first time either Sam or Cody had taken part in an international athletics meet and, to top it all off, both came home with medals. Cody won bronze in the long jump and 4 x 100m relay; while Sam also won bronze in the 4 x 100m relay, added another bronze in the 4 x 400m relay and took silver in the 400m race. They just missed out on podium places in the 200m race, with Sam coming 4th and Cody 5th.
Cody and Sam say they soon got used to the Fijian heat. “Our muscles were always warm, which made warming up before races pretty easy,” says Sam. “We just had to make sure we drank lots of water and stayed out of the sun.”
Competing in the U18 grade, Sam and Cody were among some of the youngest athletes there. They thoroughly enjoyed mixing and mingling with competitors from other countries, and soaking up the atmosphere down at the stadium.
Cody and Sam plan to take a bit of a break now, before gearing up and getting back into training for the next athletics season and – with grit, determination and dedicated training – perhaps other international events. “Oceania was the first,” says Sam. “Hopefully, the first of many.”
