KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's young sportsmen and women continue to punch above their weight.
The high standards set by our youngsters is reflected in the winners of the 2007 New Zealand Herald Junior Sports Awards, with three of the five chasing places at this year's Beijing Olympics.
Myles Browne-Cole (shooting),
19, Simon Child (hockey), 19, Sacha Jones (tennis), 17, Annalie Longo (soccer), 16, and Kane Radford (swimming), 17, have been selected as this year's winners.
The judges, Chris Allen, the Herald's sports editor, Mike Stanley and Julie Meyer from award partners the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health, former internationals David Appleby (hockey) and Alison Fitch (swimming) and Terry Maddaford from the Herald's sports staff, also highly commended Bianca Barbarich-Bacher (yachting), 15, Matt Hewitt (surfing), 17, and Matthew Lack (wheelchair sports), 16.
The judges, in line with long-standing policy, were reluctantly unable to give second awards to former winners Katherine Prumm and Carl Evans who were among the 40-plus entries.
Longo has already played soccer at the highest level - the Women's World Cup - and, provided their entry is endorsed by the New Zealand Olympic Committee, she seems certain to go to China. She first played as a 4-year-old at the Three Kings United club in Auckland staying with them throughout her career.
The youngest player, male or female, to play soccer at senior level for New Zealand, Longo has also played for the under-20 team at the World Cup in Russia in 2006 and is now playing for the national under-17 team at this week's Future Stars tournament, a prelude to the Under-17 World Cup which will be held here later this year.
While Longo seems set to fulfil her Olympic dream, Child and Radford face anxious waits.
Child is a member of the Black Sticks team who hit-off their Olympic hockey qualifying campaign this afternoon. Win the tournament and Child and the rest will pack their bags for Beijing.
It would complete a whirlwind and fairytale introduction for Child. He first played for New Zealand as a 16-year-old. Including his matches at the 2006 World Cup and Commonwealth Games, he has already won more than 60 caps and scored a bucketful of goals including a world individual record 11 in the 39-0 Oceania romp over Papua New Guinea.
Jones has long been regarded as a player likely to fill the void at the top of New Zealand tennis ranks. She follows fellow Fed Cup player Marina Erakovic in being recognised.
From an early age, Jones was seen as a player of some ability especially with her hard-hitting approach. She made her Fed Cup debut in Christchurch last year. The youngest team member, she won three of her four matches beating players from India, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.
On his application form, Browne-Cole says he is "aiming towards London 2012". Before that there are some who feel he will be ready to shoot trap at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
Involved in the sport since 2002, Brown-Cole has been part pf the New Zealand Shooting Federation's high performance squad since 2005, competing regularly in Australian and Oceania competitions as well as the Lonato World Cup and World Championships in Cyprus.
Last year, as a member of the of the NZOC Youth Olympic team, he won the trap with an internationally-recognised score of 117 and was runner-up in the double trap.
Like Child, Radford faces a tough test if he is to win through to Beijing.
After stunning the swimming world with outstanding efforts in last year's Sovereign Ocean Series, Rotorua-based Radford, who had broken Danyon Loader's long-standing 1500m age group [pool] record, went on to underline his standing as New Zealand's best open water swimmer. To get to Beijing he must firstly be selected to swim at the world championships and win an Olympic spot there.
The Junior Sports Awards have recognised a wide range of sports since their introduction in 1967.
In highly commending Mt Maunganui-based Hewitt, the popular sport of surfing is added to the long list of sports to be acknowledged.
Hewitt, South African-born but has lived in New Zealand since the age of 5, is the top under-16 surfer in New Zealand and fourth in the under-18 ranks.
Lack, a pupil at Opotiki College, joins a growing list of young disabled athletes to be recognised. In just three years in the sport, he has become one of New Zealand's best wheelchair racers. Born with the congenital disability spina bifida, Lack, who has already competed internationally, has his sights set on the 2012 Paralympics and hopes to build towards that goal by winning a place in the team for this year's world junior wheelchair games in the United States.
Barbarich-Bacher is part of the national women's champion 470 crew and finished second in last year's world championships. This year's champs were her fifth in the past two years.
The winners, their parents and coaches and those highly commended will be guests at a special lunch later this month.
