Christ’s College athletes a jump ahead of rivals

13 Feb 2024

College coach Matt Thatcher has guided Old Boy AJ Madondo to a provincial record in the triple jump and Year 13 student Aston Nijjar to 1st and 2nd place in the long jump and triple jump, respectively, at the Athletics Canterbury Club Championships at Ngā Puna Wai.

AJ has also won the U20 100m in 11.20sec and the 200m in 22.30sec, alongside his U18 record-breaking 14.48-metre triple jump. Meanwhile, Aston has recorded 5.38m in the U20 long jump and 12.16m in the U20 triple jump.

U16 athlete Jake Boyd has also scored an outstanding triple victory, winning the discus with a 46.48m throw, the shot put (10.46m), and the javelin (40.63m).

College athletes have featured in most events, with an impressive array of results across all age groups. Riley Diver has won the U20 pole vault (3.00m) while Otto Church has claimed the U16 title (2.70m) and finished 2nd in two track races.

In the U20 division, Armani Lemalu has proved too powerful for his rivals, throwing 41.92m in the discus event and 9.98m in the shot put to claim the double title, and Josh Ratulomai has wound up to throw 39.33m to take the hammer honours. Albie Roberts has also impressed to finish 2nd in the long jump (4.97m) event.

In the U18 division, Harrison Laing has won the 400m in 51.57sec and finished 2nd in the 200m (23.44sec). Felix Bowden has won the shot put (11.87m) and secured 2nd in the discus (30.97m) while Tomas Coberger has claimed 2nd in the javelin (41.05m). Willi Stanley has finished 4th in the pole vault (2.25m).

In the U16 events, Otto has claimed 2nd in the 1500m (4.36.34) and the 800m (2.12.73) while Dylan Jackson has won the 300m hurdles (46.11) and secured 2nd in the 400m (57.41) and 4th in the 200m (26.07).