This proud mum is "mighty excited" to be just about to fly off over the Tasman to watch her daughter pedal against the best mountain bikers in the Commonwealth.
Betty Wong is mother of champion cyclist Robyn Wong who is one of New Zealand's strong medal hopes in Melbourne.
Her and her
husband David are will be watching from the sidelines in Melbourne next Thursday.
"Of course I'm a proud mum, and he's a proud dad even though he doesn't like having his photo taken," said Mrs Wong.
They fly out this weekend.
The Bank of New Zealand is sponsoring athletes to the tune of $150,000 and the Masterton branch is in behind the former Wairarapa girl who will be carving through the Lysterfield Park course outside the host city next week.
Robyn attended Wainuioru School and St Matthew's Collegiate School and was good enough to make the Wairarapa under-21 netball team. She is now based in Wellington but sometimes trains in Wairarapa.
The 35-year-old is one of the top three ranked cyclists in the Commonwealth. She started mountain biking at the relatively late age of 28 and has achieved some notable successes on the European circuit.
Betty received an email from Robyn yesterday morning saying she had just arrived in Melbourne after final preparation training in Tasmania.
She said Robyn is aiming for a medal in the race.
"We're mighty excited and very nervous. No matter where she comes, we're very proud," she said.
The Masterton branch of the BNZ is accepting donations to go towards the cost of sending Robyn to the games.
She spends a lot of her own money financing her racing and the BNZ support goes some way to alleviating these costs. She is a chartered accountant and works on contract so she can spend six months of the year in Europe on the racing circuit.
BNZ have a display featuring newspaper stories on Robyn and an array of bicycles on loan from Lamberts Cycles.
Robyn's race is at 12.30am (NZ time) on March 23.
