The para-athlete is a member of the St Paul’s Harrier and Amateur Athletic Club and competes in T63 events for athletes with an above-the-knee amputation.
The 14-year-old has shaved a second off his best time for the 100m, two seconds off his 200m best time and has achieved a metre further in the long jump.
Jonti said he was pleased with his results.
‘‘It’s been good.
‘‘I’ve done a lot, improved a lot.’’
He was especially pleased to extend his long jump record to 4.79m. It was ‘‘the thrill of getting a better distance’’. At the recent New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Auckland he won gold in the under-17 events and silver in the under-20 long jump. He has been competing in athletics for about four years and also plays football in the winter. He would continue training under coach Chris Knight during the winter. His next step would be to learn how to use a starting block for his sprinting events. ‘‘It will be a challenge, but yeah, it’ll be good.’’ At present he was not looking too far into the future. ‘‘Just keeping a balance between school and sport, and everything else I’m doing.’’ He played the piano and was studying Cambridge International Education subjects.
