The Mount Maunganui College student, who has autism, has set himself a goal to take out the 1500m race at his college's athletics championships at Tauranga Domain today.
Scott Lockhart's story is one of passion and a determination to overcome the odds.
The Mount Maunganui College student, who has autism, has set himself a goal to take out the 1500m race at his college's athletics championships at Tauranga Domain today.
The 16-year-old said his inspiration to compete in his first ever 1500m race came from watching Lightning McQueen in the animated Disney movie Cars.
Since he started training three months ago, Scott said his endurance and speed had increased, and he could run the 1500m in six minutes and 10 seconds without stopping.
When asked how he rated his chances of winning, clearly failure was not in his vocabulary.
Regardless of the outcome, Scott said he planned to compete in this year's Bay of Plenty Athletics Championships in the same event.
Mount Maunganui College student Scott Lockhart set to compete in his first 1500m race at Tauranga Domain today. Photo/George Novak.
Scott's passion for life is infectious.
The Year 12 student said he wanted to be a published author and had already written more than 30 books and created most of the illustrations himself.
That included a history book titled Settlers in New Zealand, and another about the adventures of teenagers called The Lockhart Chronicles.
His dream was to have the latter turned in a CGI animated TV series and possibly a movie with the help of NZ on Air and perhaps the NZ Film Commission.
Last November Scott took centre stage when he and his schoolmates won the Mount Maunganui College inter-house haka competition.
The same month he was awarded the Sheward Nathan Cup for his courage and determination in fully embracing college life.
"Scott is an amazing young man, so driven and always challenging himself. If he has the right support networks to help guide him the right direction, anything is possible," his specialist teacher Sheree Tainui Fountain said.
His parents, Leianne and Paul Lockhart, were his greatest supporters, Scott said.
"Scott is an amazing kid; he's just a marvel. Despite all the challenges he has faced he just keeps on going and passionately strives to achieve his next goals," his proud mum said.
"When Scott first told us he wanted to compete in the 1500m I was amazed but he was so passionate and determined to do it and of course we 100 per cent back his decision."
Facts about Autism
It's a highly variable neurodevelopmental disorder which first appears in infancy or childhood.
It's characterised by impaired social, verbal and non-verbal interactions.
Affects information processing in the brain.
It is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Some cases strongly associated with infections in pregnancy but can develop gradually.
