Christchurch policeman Chris Mene wants to follow in the footsteps of his parents and represent New Zealand at next year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Mene and Sally Mene competed at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games in 1974.
Mene became one of the crowd favourites when he finished sixth in the men's decathlon with
6993 points and Sally was seventh in the women's discus (48.8m) and 11th in the javelin (40.44m). "I was two years old at the time and was in the stand with my aunty."
He does not remember anything about the 1974 Games, but the aspiration to compete in international sport has always been part of the family attitude.
Chris competed for Samoa in the discus at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and brother Nathan represented that country in the high jump at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.
Sister Bernice became the first sibling to represent New Zealand at a Commonwealth Games when she was a member of the Silver Ferns netball team at Kuala Lumpur in 1998. She captains the netball team and looks likely to go to Manchester.
Chris Mene is keen to join his sister and make sure there will be two family members competing for New Zealand at a Commonwealth Games again.
He has the hardest task and must improve by five metres in the discus to qualify. His best is 56m and the qualifying mark is 61m.
"It is a tough standard, and three metres further than it was in 1998," Mene said. "I'm confident of getting close."
Mene was in a class of his own when he won the men's discus at the Southern League meeting in Dunedin yesterday. He won by nine metres from Pegasus colleague Chris Knight with a best throw of 51.57m.
Chris is coached by his father on the technical aspects of the discus and his fitness and strength adviser is Andrew Jackson.
He has grown up watching videos of his parents competing at Christchurch.
"The inspiration is to represent the country of my birth," Mene said. "I'll do what I can to qualify and give it everything. I'm determined to prove to myself that I can do it."
The memory of competing for Samoa at the Atlanta Olympics remains with him. "It was an awesome and almost unbelievable experience. The only way to outdo it is to represent New Zealand - my country of birth. That is what is missing at the moment."
Ian Winchester (Counties-Manukau) holds the New Zealand resident discus record with his 1998 throw of 63.57m.
- NZPA
