Dunedin has a new elite athlete - a Mosgiel nurse who took on the cream of Taihape gumboot-throwers and emerged New Zealand champion.
Mairead Fox, of Dunedin, was back at work at the Mosgiel Health Centre yesterday, after taking the top prize at the Hilux New Zealand Rural Games, in Queenstown at the weekend.
''We went to Queenstown for a fun weekend, and after a few drinks we decided to join,'' Miss Fox said of her preparation for the event, after she and some friends ''just rocked up and entered''.
The event began with the South Island champs, which Miss Fox duly won after the required three throws.
But when she was called back for the nationals, the competition was suddenly a lot tougher, as it featured four women from Taihape, who looked to be at another level altogether.
''I didn't think I was going to win,'' she said, as she faced the highest level of gumboot throwing athletes New Zealand has to offer.
But years of high school and tertiary level netball and basketball gave the Dunedin woman the edge.
Using her method of hurling the gumboot by gripping it at the top and flinging, the former St Kevin's College pupil sent her boot flying an impressive 28m, 4m further than her nearest rival.
She was unsure of her future in the sport, and whether she would keep competing.
''We'll see,'' she said, laughing.
While the sport is amateur, Miss Fox did not go away empty handed.
She won a pair of gumboots for her efforts.
And for a woman raised on a Waimate sheep farm, they might very well come in useful in future.
