"It hasn’t happened by accident’’.
Raylene Bates would know. The Athletics New Zealand south development manager and national para lead has been involved in the sport for decades and has helped athletics’ upwards trajectory.
Bates and Athletics NZ board member Megan Gibbons have been part of the driving force helping Otago shine as well.
The Athletics Otago life members are rightly proud to see New Zealand producing athletes at the top of the podium.
‘‘We’re obviously on a massive high at the moment,’’ Bates said.
‘‘We are the most celebrated Olympic and Paralympic sport in regards to medals.’’
But unlike previous golden eras, when middle-distance runners ruled the roost, New Zealand’s current crop is spread across the track and the field.
That is a direct result of the pathways created for able-bodied and para athletes across the past 20 years.
‘‘The sport has really developed across the whole spectrum of our complex events, really.
‘‘It’s been through the growth of coaches, through the investment of the Government.
‘‘This is, again, not overnight. The investment . . . has created this success that we’re celebrating now. We couldn’t have done it . . . without that support either.’’
Gibbons agreed the public was seeing the benefits from the long-term developments.
‘‘Athletics NZ has done a lot in investing in people, coaching, pathways, environments and so that’s now starting to be seen publicly,’’ Gibbons said.
‘‘I think sometimes we forget what we have to do before we can get results.’’
With success comes support. Seeing runner Sam Ruthe breaking world records as a teenager had done wonders in reinstating public interest.
‘‘People connect with that and they like to see New Zealanders doing well,’’ Gibbons said.
‘‘Sport in this country doesn’t do very well when you’re not doing well. It’s pretty hard to be a fan when there’s nothing to be a fan of. It takes time and we’ve seen that from rowing and cycling over the years.
‘‘You’ve got to invest and you’ve got to build up that culture, really, that success is acceptable and needed.
‘‘I think Dame Val [Adams] started it for athletics and Tom Walsh probably carried the baton from her.
‘‘But now there’s a group and I think that’s really exciting. There’s an appreciation that we’re just as good as anybody else.’’
Success also helped attract fans back to the national championships, with good crowds in Dunedin in 2025 and Auckland this year.
‘‘You’re getting that community support and people wanting to be part of it,’’ Bates said.
‘‘They’ve got heroes again. They’re wanting signatures.
‘‘When you’ve got these role models and wider communities, you know you’re succeeding.
‘‘It’s about the investment that has been made into coaching, to upskilling officials, administrators . . . ensuring that we have the right people on the bus and the right people supporting these athletes and being able to ensure that they grow as well.’’
That is something Gibbons felt athletics has done well in recent years, supporting athletes across the board — not just those at the top.
‘‘They have really looked at where the potential is,’’ Gibbons said.
‘‘If there’s a technical element then we tend to do really well.
‘‘Zoe [Hobbs] doing well is phenomenal — and there’s been good support. Then we bring in para, and para have had a great programme as well.’’
Otago has produced star Paralymians, including Anna Grimaldi and Holly Robinson, who have stayed in their home region to train and inspire the next generation.
‘‘I think athletics has done really well because they’ve allowed it to happen in the regions,’’ Gibbons said.
‘‘They haven’t centralised support services. They’ve actually allowed people to be where they need to be and the athletes, they migrate to where they need to be.’’ tago punches well above its weight — and Bates is quick to point out that also ‘‘hasn’t happened by chance’’.
Athletics Otago hosts various events throughout the summer and winter, and transition development days for juniors moving to seniors, and had strong development squads that were led by national and international level coaches.
‘‘We’ve had great volunteers and officials and they ensure we have a good competition,’’ Gibbons said.
‘‘We’ve got the squad structure so that allows athletes to be identified and supported, so it does create a community.
‘‘If we can create an environment that they want to be in then they do stay.
‘‘We’ve probably seen that with our senior men’s relay.’’
The 4x100m relay has been a premier event for Otago, who won a fifth consecutive national title this year.
The team won the Australian title and broke a 19-year-old Otago record in 2024 — even more impressive considering the team changes every year, showing Otago’s depth.
Shay Veitch and Todd Bates — his first senior title at his seventh championships — also won gold at the national event, and Alexa Duff, Ryan Young, Luke Moffitt, Felix McDonald and Jorja Gibbons picked up silverware.
Jorja Gibbons has also been selected for New Zealand’s first relay team for the world championships, Otago won more than 70 medals at the South Island secondary schools championships and 10 Otago athletes are heading to the Oceania championships next month.
‘‘The success of our senior athletes at nationals was probably something that personally I was really proud of,’’ Bates said.
‘‘They showed that you can persevere, you can commit and you can succeed.
‘‘It shows that our younger athletes, if you stick in there and you do the hard work . . . actually you can make it to the top as well.’’
Several Otago athletes, including Veitch and John Gerber, no longer live in the region but continue to pull on the blue singlet.
‘‘I think it’s a direct testimony of our culture,’’ Bates said.
‘‘They will want to represent Otago with pride.
‘‘As a squad director, that shows us how much pride they do have in their province and the culture that we have within our teams and our environment.’’
