Young Rotorua athletes excel on the national stage

Rotorua's Hannah Gapes leads the way at the New Zealand Road Championships in Auckland. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua rising star Hannah Gapes has capped off a stellar year of racing with three medals in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships in Tauranga last weekend.

The John Paul College and Lake City Athletic Club athlete took silver in the senior girls' 3000m on Friday evening before winning gold in the senior girls' 1500m and taking bronze in the senior girls' 2000m Steeplechase on Sunday.

Gapes also won the Under-18 National Cross-Country Challenge in Dunedin and the combined under-18 and under-20 New Zealand Road Championships in Auckland during 2020.

"It was a strange year with lots of events postponed or cancelled but I was really motivated in my training to make the best out of this year despite the challenges," Gapes said.

"Some highlights for me this year were winning three national titles, first U18 Women's New Zealand Athletics Cross-Country Challenge in August, first 1500m New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships, and first U18 Women's New Zealand Athletics Road Race Championships, and I'm really looking forward to more events coming up in the summer."

Hannah Gapes (right) in action at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships. Photo / Supplied

Gapes' teammate Poppy Martin, also of John Paul College, claimed a bronze medal in the New Zealand Secondary Schools junior girls' 4km road race on Sunday morning around the Ōtūmoetai circuit in Tauranga.

It was Martin's first national event since competing in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross-Country Championships in Timaru in 2019 where she finished 24th in her first attempt at the Year 9 girls' 3000m race.

Gapes and Martin now look forward to their summer break before resuming school in February.