The Rangi Ruru Girls’ School students were first and second in the junior girls high jump at the New Zealand secondary schools track and field championships at Ngā Puna Wai over the weekend.
Zara won gold with a jump of 1.68m, seven centimetres ahead of Eliza.
It was a carbon copy result of the Canterbury championships in February, with Zara taking gold and Eliza silver in the under 16 grade.
Eliza said it was “really amazing”. She was proud of how she and Zara jumped.
Competing against each other from since they were young has become normal. But Zara said despite that, lining up against each other was “still pretty special”.
“We always support each other when the other is competing, but we obviously do want to beat each other. At the end of the day, one of us will win and one of us will lose,” she said.
“It can be annoying sometimes because we’re always together, but there’s always some friendly sibling rivalry.”
Their mum Glenda and dad Phil said a competitive streak when they were younger led to a few moments where whoever lost would get upset.
“I ended up saying ‘if it ends up in tears I’m not going to watch anymore’. I think they’ve matured a bit since then. They are genuinely supportive of each other,” Glenda said.
The twins also excel in other sports – basketball, hockey and netball.
Glenda believes it’s perfect for them to play the same sports.
“Having a twin in the house of the same age, same sport, they’re always throwing a volleyball around in the yard or hitting the hockey ball to each other.”
The twins’ club is Old Boys United Athletic and they are coached by former Commonwealth Games high jumper and decathlete Terry Lomax. He coached Hamish Kerr to a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Said Zara: “He’s great, he’s very knowledgeable. He’s a really good coach on the sideline, gives us lots of tips which really helps us.”
Before moving to Old Boys, the twins were coached by Brian Cowan at Papanui Toc H, who guided them to their medals at the Canterbury championships.
And there’s no doubt the girls will go from strength to strength as their sporting lives unfold.
By Sam Coughlan
