Sport: Making their way in the world

Claudia Hay and Heartbreaker at the South Canterbury North Otago showjumping competition in 2012....
Claudia Hay and Heartbreaker at the South Canterbury North Otago showjumping competition in 2012. Photo supplied
Sean Eathorne bats for Carisbrook-Dunedin at Tonga Park last summer. Photo by Gregor Richardson
Sean Eathorne bats for Carisbrook-Dunedin at Tonga Park last summer. Photo by Gregor Richardson
Blair Hamelink (left) and wife Kelly during a skydiving training jump in California. Photo supplied
Blair Hamelink (left) and wife Kelly during a skydiving training jump in California. Photo supplied
Michael Crowley (left) mans the plate for Saints in a Dunedin premier softball game at Ellis Park...
Michael Crowley (left) mans the plate for Saints in a Dunedin premier softball game at Ellis Park. Photo by Peter McIntosh
Zac Williams in action in a race in Whistler, Canada, earlier this year. Photo supplied.
Zac Williams in action in a race in Whistler, Canada, earlier this year. Photo supplied.
Craig Sneddon in action for the Pirates premier rugby team. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Craig Sneddon in action for the Pirates premier rugby team. Photo by Craig Baxter.

Ten years ago, then ODT sports editor Craig Page cooked up a new idea to profile the rising stars in Otago secondary school sport. The series was called The Fast Lane, and it remains a feature of our secondary sport page every other week. More than 160 bright young things have been profiled. Hayden Meikle looks back on the inaugural class.

Claudia Hay(Correspondence School)
Sport: Equestrian
Then: Hay and her ''trusted pony'', Repias Super Blonde, were New Zealand grand prix champions.
Now: Hay has had a long and successful career in the saddle. She was New Zealand young rider champion in 2008 and grand prix series champion in 2008-09 on Euro Sport Valentino Rossi. She has trained in Europe, and last year took part in the invitation-only Ride the Rhythm event at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Rachelle Hayes(Dunstan High School)
Sport: Athletics.
Then: Had only been doing the hammer throw for two months when she won a silver medal at the national secondary schools championships.
Now: Hayes broke the New Zealand under-16 record and was selected in the New Zealand team for the World Secondary Schools Games in Melbourne. But she shelved athletics after leaving school. She is now a mother of a 2-year-old boy, and living in Invercargill.

Zac Williams(King's High School)
Sport: Mountain biking.
Then: Williams was named the most promising junior rider in New Zealand after finishing third in the national under-17 downhill series.
Now: Williams went on to represent New Zealand at the world championships in 2006. He is still flying down hills on two wheels. Earlier this year, he finished fourth in the longest downhill race in the world, in Canada, and he has also competed in the world enduro series. Lives in Dunedin, where he recently established a building company.

Craig Sneddon(Otago Boys' High School)
Sport: Athletics.
Then: Sneddon was New Zealand under-16 champion in both 100m and 200m, and also represented Otago age group teams in rugby, cricket and basketball.
Now: Sneddon went on to win silver medals in the senior 100m at the New Zealand secondary schools championships in 2004 and 2005. He has won the Time Buster, and a Dunedin cricket title with Kaikorai, and an eclectic rugby career has seen him represent multiple clubs as well as North Otago. Works as an electrician in Dunedin.

Ray Geary(John McGlashan College)
Sport: BMX.
Then: Had represented New Zealand three times, reaching the quarterfinals in his grade at the 2002 world championships.
Now: Lives in Perth, where he drives massive diggers and bulldozers in the mines. Plays a bit of golf and social touch.

Anna Harvey(Taieri College)
Sports: Athletics and hockey.
Then: Harvey was the national junior schools hammer throw champion, and a New Zealand under-16 hockey triallist.
Now: Harvey was New Zealand under-17 (2006) and under-19 (2007) hammer champion, was selected for the Youth Olympics, and received a University of Otago blue. She now lives in Melbourne, where she works as a client liaison executive in environmental/chemical management. Ran a half-marathon last year.

Joseph Lill(St Kevin's College)
Sport: Football.
Then: A New Zealand secondary schools triallist, and one of three Lill brothers in the St Kevin's team.
Now: Lill played club football in Christchurch, and has represented New Zealand in both indoor and beach handball. Lives in London and works as a contract lawyer, having previously worked in Auckland for DLA Phillips Fox, in civil litigation, and then for the Department of Labour doing health and safety prosecution and immigration work.

Rhys Applegarth(King's High School)
Sport: Swimming.
Then: Won his first national medal when he finished third in the under-13 200m freestyle at the age group championships.
Now: Made the New Zealand Youth Olympic team in 2007, had a top-five finish at the New Zealand open 200m freestyle, and broke the White Island swim record. Had to stop swimming at the start of this year after contracting a form of bronchitis, and has been told to stay away from chlorine. Has a bachelor of science degree in energy management and electronics, and honours in energy management. Working in the office at Normans Auto Electrical.

John Park(Blue Mountain College)
Sport: Trap shooting.
Then: Was a South Island champion and selected in the New Zealand junior team.
Now: Qualified as a builder and is now farming in West Otago.

Leigh Olsen(Queen's High School)Sport: Equestrian.
Then: Won two open pony events at the annual Horse of the Year show.
Now: Olsen placed in the top four in the under-17 section of the Horse of the Year in 2006, but has had little time to devote to horses since heading overseas. She is based in Melbourne, where she works as a marketing/sales administrator for Harcourts.

Blair Hamelink(Otago Boys' High School)
Sport: Diving.
Then: Won three New Zealand age group titles at the same event, and also won two Australian junior titles.
Now: Hamelink is still diving - but from a much greater height. He started skydiving in 2007 and has completed 6000 jumps. He works as an instructor in California, and has been married for two years. In May, he was part of a Texas state sky diving record, and he is training for the artistic free fly event at the US championships.

Riki Cambridge(King's High School)
Sport: Orienteering.
Then: Named in the New Zealand schools team for the Australian championships.
Now: Went to the world junior championships in 2006 (Lithuania) and 2007 (Australia). Later restricted by shin problems. Works in surveying in Christchurch. Older brother Tane has been to multiple world orienteering championships and has also been involved in mountain running and adventure racing.

Flo Rades(Bayfield High School)
Sport: Wrestling.
Then: Only turned to wrestling as a way to keep fit for rugby and promptly won national age group and schools titles.
Now: Carried on wrestling for a while, competing at the national championships and in Australia. Now sticks to non-competitive options like surfing and squash. Earned a degree in physical education before beginning medical studies. Will head to Christchurch for his final three years.

Simon Forrest(Dunstan High School)
Sport: Rugby.
Then: Selected as the only Otago player in the New Zealand schools team.
Now: Forrest was a New Zealand colt but never quite managed to make the cut for Otago. Headed to Scotland, where he played for Dundee for a couple of seasons and was the club's player of the year. Now working as a surveyor in Christchurch and playing for Canterbury B.

Sean Eathorne(Kavanagh College)
Sport: Cricket.
Then: A key member of the New Zealand under-19 team and a regular in senior club cricket.
Now: Eathorne played five first-class games, seven one-day games and five twenty20 games for the Otago Volts. Also helped North Otago win the Hawke Cup in 2010, and played in Australia and the Netherlands. Works as a marketing co-ordinator for Dunedin Venues.

Michael Crowley(Kavanagh College)
Sport: Softball.
Then: Named in the Junior Black Sox for a tour of Japan, and twice named Otago softballer of the year.
Now: Crowley has long been a stalwart of the Saints club, and will coach Saints and the Otago under-19 team this summer. Studying at the University of Otago.

Anthony McLellan(Kavanagh College)
Sport: Athletics.
Then: Won two under-17 gold medals (hurdles and relay) at the New Zealand under-17 championships.
Now: McLellan broke an under-18 Oceania hurdles record and won relay gold at the 2005 national championships. Later played club rugby in Perth, where he works as a structural engineer and plays social touch.

Suzie Bates(Otago Girls' High School
Sports: Basketball and cricket.
Then: A pig-tailed girl with a cheeky grin was already a member of the Otago Sparks and the Otago Breakers.
Now: Bates has carved out one of the more remarkable careers by a New Zealand sportswoman. In basketball, she went to the Olympics with the Tall Ferns, but cricket has been the big story of her life. She is the captain of the White Ferns, and was last summer named the best women's cricketer in the world. A role model to a generation of girls hoping to pursue cricket, Bates will never make the millions her male counterparts can earn, but she is able to be a full-time sportswoman.

Jane Monk(St Hilda's Collegiate)
Sport: Yachting.
Then: Won silver in the Laser at the New Zealand secondary schools championships, and was the first woman (10th overall) to finish in the 250-strong field at the New Zealand winter championships.
Now: Known as Janey Ross, and married to another seafarer. Qualified as a chef, and has travelled the world working and living on various yachts.

 

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