Brad Mathas left Cullinane College in 2011 and also won two consecutive New Zealand Schools titles (800m) and in his final year broke his own New Zealand Schools record with an outstanding 1:50.24.
Mathas won eight consecutive New Zealand Senior titles and was 5th at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He is now based in Melbourne and returned to Wellington to take silver at this year’s Championship behind James Preston. Mathas set a personal best at 1:46.00 when he very narrowly lost to Preston at the Maurice Plant Meet in Melbourne in February.
Mathas been selected subject to achieving additional performance conditions as well as remaining high enough within the world rankings to fall inside the entry quota that World Athletics has set for each event.
It is important for young athletes to see former athletes go on in the sport and, if overseas, keeping their Whanganui affiliation. With youth in mind, I return to my review of the season and feature our most successful junior athlete Juliet Mckinlay who is in her second year at Whanganui Collegiate School.
McKinlay, from Palmerston North, has retained her Palmerston North membership but has trained at Cooks Gardens and runs at Club Nights each Tuesday. (Mckinlay retained her Palmerston North memberships mainly to allow her to run with her relay friends with whom she had competed over many years at the Colgate North Island Games).
McKinlay can look back at a hugely successful season, one in which she has gained success in many disciplines, variety that is so important at her age. At the New Zealand Secondary Schools as a Year 9, she competed against many Year 11 girls. McKinlay won the silver medal in the triple jump on a countback and she finished 9th in the long jump, narrowly missing the cut for three further jumps. She also came close to the 80m hurdles where she finished 10th and ran in both 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays for the Whanganui Collegiate junior teams. The teams came tantalisingly close to a medal finishing 4th in both.
In January she returned to Cooks Gardens for the Colgate Games and as a 14-year-old she could compete in her own age group (Grade 14). She won the 80m hurdles with a personal best of 12.75. Mckinlay also won her flight in long jump (4.88m) which was further than the second-flight winner. She finished 6th in the 100m and helped her fellow Palmerston North 4 x 100 teammates to silver in the relay.
McKinlay has shown potential for heptathlon. but did not compete at the Combined Events Championships at Cooks Gardens, saving herself for the Athletics New Zealand Championships a week later in Wellington - she will need to wait for her heptathlon debut.
At the New Zealand Championships competing in the new under-16 grade, McKinlay won a collectors’ set of medals with gold in the triple jump, silver in long jump and bronze in hurdles recording personal bests in the jumps and added a 4 x 100 relay bronze medal.
McKinlay was only able to run 300m hurdles at Whanganui Schools as she was on an Outdoor Education event on the main day of competition. A few days later at the North Island, she competed in the Intermediate Grade, finishing second in the 80m hurdles and third in the 300m hurdles (personal bests in both and 4th in both the long and triple Jump to end a long season.
McKinlay is a young athlete in a hurry – watch this space.
