Setting sights on finals

TALENTED: Sophie Petro (pictured at the Gisborne junior champs) will compete in the board, diamond and surf races at Oceans 19 at Mount Maunganui next week. File pictures

MIDWAY youngster Sophie Petro heads off to the Oceans 19 New Zealand junior surf lifesaving championships next week determined to do her best and aiming to make national finals.

The Gisborne Girls’ High School student, who turns 13 next month, was Dawson Building Midway’s under-12 female athlete of the year last year.

She has been prominent in all her age groups since joining Midway’s junior surf ranks in 2014, featuring each summer in board, swim and diamond events.

At Oceans 18 at Orewa last summer she won the under-12 diamond gold medal, and won silver in the board and surf races.

She featured in the Gisborne/Tairawhiti junior championships and in the Eastern Regional junior champs.

Midway head coach Matt Sutton says Petro has great potential.

“Sophie is one of the kids who have shown great progress over the past two seasons in our junior programme,” he said.

“She is a hard worker in training, which is more important than anything else.”

Sutton says she reminds him of a younger Olivia Corrin.

“Someone like Sophie could quite easily crack on and produce similar results to Olivia’s.”

Jared Phelps, coach of Midway’s juniors, says Sophie has outstanding family support.

“She comes from a great family and is definitely one to watch.”

Sophie says she enjoys the Midway surf club environment.

“It’s a really good club to be in, and we have heaps of great coaches.

“I’d like to thank Matt and Jared, Olivia Corrin and Jess Blakeman for all my surf coaching, and Matt Martin from Enterprise Swim Team for my swim coaching.”

She trains four times a week in the surf and four times a week in the pool.

“Surf lifesaving is a really good sport and hopefully I can stick at it for a long time, having fun with my friends.”

Her favourite event is the diamond race, with its board paddling and swimming.

“I like it most because it’s an endurance event. I enjoy that.

“I am looking forward to having lots of fun at Oceans next week at Mount Maunganui.

“I want to put all my hard training into practice and hopefully make some national finals.”