Summer to remember for Babe's `babes'

Whangarei athletes coached by coach Ian Babe achieved amazing success this summer and are not about to rest up over the winter.
Thirteen-year-old Ethan Carter's results and enthusiasm for athletics has been typical of the training group. Running a tactical race in the 800m at an inter-provincial meeting at Hamilton recently, he came home for bronze, in a personal best time of 2min 16sec, and followed up with a best of 4m 37s in the 1500m - cutting his best time by 23s.
Carter said he appreciated the benefits of training with a group. "I like it because you've got someone to run beside and to push it a bit more," he said.
Over the winter, he planned to continue running as well as playing soccer.
Tayler Gowing, 12, was also impressive in Hamilton, finishing strongly for gold in the 400m and 800m. Travis Connelly, 14, achieved personal bests in both the 1500m and 3000m and, like Carter, has committed to harriers and soccer in the winter.
Northland Secondary Schools' 800m and 1500m champion Ryan Slater, ran 2m 03s in the men's 19-grade 800m at the Athletic New Zealand Championships and now sees breaking the 2m barrier as a realistic goal; while Paul Carter, Ethan's older brother, reduced his best times for 800m and 1500m.
Simone Ackermann won the hotly contested Stroke and Stride series in Auckland and will be heading for the under-19 World Triathlon Championships in September, where she is a reserve for New Zealand's under-19 elite team.
Elliot Frizelle showed his class with an impressive win in the Kumara triathlon at Kai Iwi Lakes earlier this month; while Katherine Anton, the New Zealand and the Oceania Duathlon Champion, added the Auckland Half Ironman to her bag of titles and is aiming for the World Duathlon Championships in the US in September.
Ian Calder triumphed at the recent Australian Masters, winning gold in the 50 to 54 age group 1500m and silver in the 800m, and is now eyeing the Masters World Championships in Finland in July.
Babe is understandably pleased with the results his athletes have achieved and is keen "to bring some of the younger ones through and encourage them to be involved in other sports on the way".
He is also strongly committed to working with his older athletes and, more generally, to promoting athletics.