Queenstown school pupils listen to multisport athlete Steve Gurney. Photo by Christina McDonald.
Pupils listened as Gurney recounted his early sporting failures, which he turned into record-breaking successes.
Gurney, who has won the Coast to Coast a record nine times, told the pupils never to stop pushing the boundaries - via an analogy about fleas kept in a jar which stopped jumping when they thought the jar had a lid.
He highlighted the importance of effective goal setting and said he "found it was actually beneficial to tell as many people [his goals] as possible because it holds myself accountable".
"Don't hide your talents."
The athlete and motivational speaker is one of 20 sports ambassadors visiting secondary schools as part of a national Sport New Zealand programme.
