Malcolm and Rebecca are pupils at St Peter's College in Gore. Malcolm's sport of choice is whitewater kayaking and Rebecca's strength is on the running track.
Malcolm has just returned from his first world championships in the Czech Republic, where he said he was a little disappointed with his performance.
"I didn't have such a good run. I missed a gate, which was annoying. I was aiming for the mid-30s as a placing but had to settle for 64th.''
The whole experience was a real eye-opener, he said. "Whitewater kayaking is just so huge in Europe. Everyone in the town we were in was right behind the event.
"There were cameras in front of you and cameras behind you with your progress down the course displayed on a big screen for the massive crowd to watch.''
The town where the world championships were held was just outside of the Czech capital, Prague, Malcolm said.
"I've never been in such an amazing place to compete. You just don't realise how big it is until you are actually there.
"It has definitely fired my desire to reach the top in my sport. I now have to sit down and plan what I need to do to get there,'' Malcolm said.
His next job is to prepare for the preworld championship regatta selection trials in January next year.
The regatta will be held in France in July.
The world championships are held every two years.
It was an eventful trip home for Malcolm, with a two-day stop-over in Bangkok, after which he was taken ill on the flight home to Auckland, where he was taken to Middlemore Hospital.
"I'm not sure what it was but it certainly gave Mum a scare - I'm fine now though,'' he said.
Rebecca's forte is sprinting.
She competed with great success at the "Down Under'' track meeting on the Gold Coast in Australia in July.
She won her 400m race and came second in the 200m, after being pipped at the post by just 0.05 of a second.
"I didn't think I'd do that well, coming out of a New Zealand winter, so I'm really pleased with my effort.
"It's hard to peak for something like this but it's made me a lot more confident in my ability to compete with the best in the world in my age group,'' Rebecca said.
Rebecca has been selected to represent New Zealand at the Pacific Games in Canberra, Australia, in December.
"I just want to see how far I can go in the sport but I feel confident now that I do have a future in sprinting.''
In her last year at St Peter's College, Rebecca said she was looking at scholarships for tertiary study.
"At the moment, I plan to go to Lincoln University and study environmental management but we'll see what comes up.''
St Peter's deputy principal Lindy Cavanagh-Monaghan said the school was immensely proud of its pupils' successes.
"We are constantly amazed at the sheer level of commitment students and their parents are prepared to make in order for them to reach their chosen goals,'' she said.
