Rathkeale College pupil George Hewitt grabbed the limelight at the South Island Paralympic Games held in Christchurch over the weekend, setting three New Zealand records on his way to winning three golds and one silver medal.
Hewitt, 14, who has cerebal palsy, contested the T35 under-19 years division and his outstanding
form came as no surprise to his Masterton-based coach Mark Harris, who was expecting big things from the youngster after a series of impressive efforts in lead-up competitions.
"We knew he was ready, it was just a matter of how ready," Harris said.
"And when you consider his age he'll only get better, there's plenty of scope for improvement yet."
Hewitt broke the national record for his grade in winning over 200m, 400m and 800m. His 200m time of 43.46secs was 0.35secs inside the old mark, his 400m time of 1min 36.07secs beat the previous record by a whopping 15.03secs and his 800m time of 3min 38.54secs was almost 21secs faster than had been managed before. He was also second in the 100m in a personal best time of 21.39secs.
Meantime Team Wairarapa placed sixth on the points list when round two of the central region athletics league was held at Palmerston North.
They compiled 227pts, behind Manawatu (688), Wanganui (546), Wellington Harriers (380), Hastings (327) and Taranaki (295).Then came Wellington Scottish (227), Kiwi (199), Lower Hutt (171), Titahi Bay (99), Olympic (53), Mid-Valley (43) and Karori (28).
It was George Hewitt's twin brother Edward who provided one of the highlights for Team Wairarapa when he recorded 55.09secs for the 400m, the first time he had gone under the 60secs mark.
Czech Rebeka Rizmanova, who is on a sports exchange at Chanel College, is better known for her deeds in the swimming pool but she is no slug as a runner either, registering competitive times over 200m (28.31secs) and 400m (1min 1.86secs).
Fastest of the Wairarapa competitors in the women's 200m was gun sprinter Laura McKenna whose 26.29secs was close to a personal best and there were pbs over both 200m and 400m for Tess Laven.
Wairarapa times and distances were:-
Women's 100m: Laura McKenna (16yrs) 13.24, Sian Chapman (16yrs) 13.68, Molly Creagh (16yrs) 13.76, Mikayla Pearson (16yrs) 13.94, Mary Williams (16yrs) 15.27.
Men's 100m: William Simpson (19yrs) 12.15, Travis Hart (16yrs) 13.54.
Women's 200m: Laura McKenna (16yrs) 26.29, Stevie Paine (16yrs) 26.87, Molly Creagh (16yrs) 28.13, Rebeka Rizmanova (16yrs) 28.31, Tessa Laven (16yrs) 29.20, Mikayla Pearson (16yrs) 29.70.
Women's 400m: Rebeka Rizmanova (16yrs) 1.01.86, Tessa Laven (16yrs) 1.03.52.
Men's 400m: Edward Hewitt (16yrs) 55.90, Bevan Brown (16yrs) 1.00.76.
Women's 800m: Stevie Paine (16yrs) 2.25.10.
Men's 800m: Tom Quinn (16yrs) 2.03.22, Joel Farley (16yrs) 2.05.01.
Women's 4 by 100m relay: Wairarapa A 53.21.
Men's 4 by 100m relay: Wairarapa A 49.60, Wairarapa B 52.51.
Men's 4 by 400m relay: Wairarapa A 3.39.68.
Women's shot put: Katie Smith (16yrs) 9.28m.
Men's shot put: Tim Girling-McLean (16yrs) 13.59m, Jerry Peseta (19yrs) 13.41m, Josh Greig (19yrs) 13.23m, Dennis Peseta (19yrs) 10.61m.
Women's discus: Katie Smith (14yrs) 21.06m.
Men's discus: Jerry Peseta (19yrs) 38.31m, Josh Greig (19yrs) 36.09m, Tim Girling-McLean (16yrs) 32.50m, Dennis Peseta (19yrs) 30.10m.
Men's javelin: Tim Girling-McLean (16yrs) 28.39m, Josh Greig (19yrs) 26.70m, Jerry Peseta (19yrs) 20.90m
Men's hammer throw: Josh Greig (19yrs) 29.67m.
Rathkeale College pupil George Hewitt grabbed the limelight at the South Island Paralympic Games held in Christchurch over the weekend, setting three New Zealand records on his way to winning three golds and one silver medal.
Hewitt, 14, who has cerebal palsy, contested the T35 under-19 years division and his outstanding
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