Climbing: Tauranga's Sarah Tetzlaff breaks New Zealand record at Youth Olympic Games

Sport climber Sarah Tetzlaff has set a New Zealand record at the Youth Olympic Games. Photo / George Novak

Tauranga's Sarah Tetzlaff is not only the New Zealand's first climber at the Youth Olympic Games - she has also set a New Zealand record on the sport's debut at the 2018 event.

There is no doubt the 18-year-old is a trailblazer in the sport.

On the first day of Buenos Aires 2018 - and the first day the sport has been part of the Youth Olympic Games - Tetzlaff flew up the speed wall to set a New Zealand record.

Speed is just one part of climbing, and involves clambering up a 15m wall as fast as possible.

She hit the top buzzer in a time of 12.72s, shaving off almost half a second from the previous record of 13.14 - a feat her family got to witness.

"It's pretty special, and my mum, dad, brother and aunty have all come over to watch me which is awesome," Tetzlaff says.

This year is the first time sport climbing has been part of the Youth Olympic Games, where top athletes aged between 14 and 18 from more than 200 countries around the world compete.

"Having sport climbing in the Olympic Games is really cool, it's inspiring lots of kids to get into the sport too which is neat," she says.

Tetzlaff moved to Tauranga from Wellington earlier this year to train with Climbing New Zealand head coach Rob Moore at Rocktopia, which is the national training centre for this newest of Olympic sports.

Tetzlaff has been climbing most of her teenage years.

The Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, which take place every four years, runs until October 18.

For a full list of results and for the Games schedule visit Olympic.org.nz or download the NZ Team app.