The city where winners grow

Each chemical element plopped inside the dish might have appeared random, but under careful observation the results have proved to be anything but accidental. The results over the years have shown how the contents of a petri dish could easily resemble the small patch of New Zealand known as Wanganui.

The city's long list of sport achievements on national and international levels proves the hypothesis that if you throw together certain elements: excellent facilities, 43,500 people, world-renowned coaches, schooling competitiveness and ideal climate conditions into a 2400km2 sized dish, the chances are you will breed a batch of world-class athletes.

These world-class athletes fall into one of three main sports: cycling, rowing and athletics.

The small city has one of the best cycling terrains in the country for amateurs to enhance their skills.

New Zealand team cycling coach Ron Cheatley described Wanganui as a "great breeding ground".

He said that as far as the road went, Wanganui's was among the best in the country. The opportunity to ride on the rural roads coupled with the lack of traffic made it safe for amateur riders to give it a go.

Cheatley said the local velodrome had been recognised as one of the best, and in recent times a number of major meets had taken place there.

He thought the community was lucky to have such a great venue, although the absence of a roof had been a challenge when it came to holding big events and relying on the weather to pull through.

However, BMX biking was the missing facility in Wanganui, having recently been declared an Olympic sport. Cheatley said there used to be two tracks but both were dissolved.

"People are screaming out for it," he said. "If we had that we would have the whole cycling whammy going on."

Cycling 's future in Wanganui can be seen in the fresh and upcoming talent such as Casey Cameron, and reflecting on the success of athletes who started out in Wanganui, including Gary Anderson, who went on to claim an Olympics title.

Anderson recounted the first cycling club he joined in Wanganui when he was young. He said he thrived on the competitive nature that became part of his training from the get-go.

Anderson described the weather as a "double-ended sword". He said the wind could be a pain but it helped develop his physical and mental strength.

"It can be incredibly mentally tiring but you just push on and learn to ride into it."

He described the city as a good place in which to train, but said a time had come when the facilities and competition it offered had run its course for him.

"It is an easy place to do your basic training, but you have to travel and compete elsewhere after that."

Wanganui's climate plays a significant part in enabling runners to train regularly. Athletics has emerged as a major part of Wanganui's identity, with old ties to the world record run by Peter Snell in 1962, and new ties to athletes starting to make their own mark, such as Lucy van Dalen.

Van Dalen, a 23-year-old former Wanganui Collegiate student, is days away from her Olympics debut in the London Games 1500m.

She said her time in Wanganui acted as the springboard which propelled her to excel in athletics outside New Zealand. Van Dalen takes advantage of the nearby facilities within an arm's reach of her family home.

"I absolutely love running around Virginia Lake and by the river."

She mentioned the inspirational Peter Snell statue, looking out over the finish line at Cook's Gardens: "We are reminded every day that great things can happen if you keep working hard."

President of Athletics New Zealand and Athletics Wanganui and coach Alec McNabb said many things were in a runner's favour in Wanganui.

"There are no extreme weather climates. It never gets too hot or too cold," he said.

Some big results had flowed out of little Wanganui. McNab mentioned the 58 sub-four minute miles run on the Cook's Garden track, that included two apiece by Snell and Nick Willis.

Opportunities for runners to challenge themselves and develop their abilities presented themselves in several forms.

The annual Cook's Classic was one example, alongside the "Young Olympians camp" McNab started in 1990, which invited a few of the top athletes from schools throughout New Zealand. The highest level of competition would flock to Wanganui for it, and it had been held outside of the city only twice since it began.

McNab said runners derived "obvious enjoyment" from the opportunity to train in Wanganui. He described how, as a coach, the track was a "facility on our doorstep".

He felt Wanganui utilised its tradition and excellent facilities to continue to produce a large number of world-class athletes, including one of nine in this year's New Zealand track and field team at the London Olympics.

The Whanganui river, which runs rampantly throughout the city, provides an accessible means for athletes to practise and develop their skills in rowing.

Rowing association president Bob Evans said that to be an efficient rower, it was important to have watermanship at a top level and be able to handle the water conditions thrown at you.

Evans talked about how the facilities were only as good as the support. The five clubs along the river and schools such as Wanganui Collegiate "pull the resources close" to take advantage of their accessibility.

A former Olympic bronze medallist and head coach at the Waikato Regional Performance centre, Ian Wright, recalled the days when he first took to rowing at Wanganui High school.

"I started because I was made to, pretty much," Wright said.

His father had been a rower and Wright felt he had to impress the kids at school.

Wright said that when the Wanganui rowing club existed, it was what pushed him to get amongst the competition and excel, as well as his admiration for his coach at the time, Peter Irvine.

He said that while Karapiro was the best river to train on these days, as far as he was concerned Wanganui would always be a close second.

"All the best rowers would come to Wanganui and all the rowing trials were done on the river."

He enjoyed returning to the Whanganui river and getting "a bit of mud between [his] toes".

Wright said he always brought the Waikato rowers down for the Jury Cup and the weather would always be near perfect for it.

The mentality hadn't really changed in Wanganui, he believed, and it was still a place where a decent lot of talent was continuing to seep through.

"Wanganui could be, if they had the finances, a place where good athletes could stay and not have to leave."

The all-round environment and access to facilities has enabled Wanganui to develop a competitive mentality in its athletes.

The large number who have leaked out of the confines of the dish have been able to cope with what waits out there on the international stage.

Wanganui creates the tough layer of skin and continues to breed world-class athletes - and, who knows, perhaps one of ours will be the athlete to win the 100th Olympic medal for New Zealand at the London Games.