Samantha and Shannon Hope are the proverbial two peas in a pod. Not only do they look alike, but both are excelling in duathlon, triathlon and the national junior mountain biking scene.
Samantha (year 12) and Shannon (year 10) were part of a successful Bayfield High School team that won the mixed team category and finished second overall at the Otago Rail Trail Duathlon.
Three days later they competed in the Otago-Southland triathlon and multisport championships in Cromwell.
Shannon finished first in the the individual girls junior multisport race and Samantha was part of the winning team in the senior multisport race.
Samantha said she was "really happy" with her and her sister's performance.
Shannon said competing in two events within four days left her legs a "little sore", but because the sisters trained hard and were in good shape, their recovery was easy.
It is in junior mountain biking that both girls have really flourished. After good results in the Dunedin and Christchurch legs of the New Zealand mountain bike series, both sisters built on their success with impressive results in the national championships in Nelson in January.
Shannon won the under-17 event and Samantha finished second in the under-19 race.
Samantha finished second and Shannon third in their respective sections at the Oceania mountain bike championships earlier this month in Rotorua.
Shannon said "she got a huge buzz" out of her national title win and to perform well at the Oceania event was an "amazing feeling".
Both girls said they encouraged each other to do well and mountain biking was their favourite sport.
"The nationals and Oceania were real fun so we will probably stick with that," Samantha said.
"Because we race in different age groups we are able to watch each other race and spur each other on."
Both girls were born in Dunedin, to parents Linda and Ray.
They said their parents watched them compete whenever they could and were their No 1 fans.
"Mum and dad used to do multisport and then got into biking so they are really supportive", Samantha said.
She trains about nine hours a week. Shannon said she was training a little less, but is also doing gymnastics. Both girls said cycling coach Scarlett Hagen was helping them develop their skills.
• Names: Samantha (16) and Shannon Hope (14).
• School: Bayfield High School.
• Sports: Duathlon, triathlon, multisport, mountain biking.
ACHIEVEMENTS
• Samantha: New Zealand under-19 mountain bike championship runner-up, second in Oceania championships, part of winning team in Otago-Southland multisport championships.
• Shannon: New Zealand under-17 mountain bike champion, third in Oceania championships, Otago-Southland junior multisport champion.
• Both: Part of Bayfield team that won mixed team category at Otago Rail Trail Duathlon.
