If Northland para athlete Cameron Leslie continues his winning ways, he may well be one of the region's most successful sporting exports. Photo / Getty Images
If Northland para athlete Cameron Leslie continues his winning ways, he may well be one of the region's most successful sporting exports. Photo / Getty Images
When you think of Northland's sporting legends, who comes to mind?
The original Northland legend and the name that will come to the minds of most in our rugby community is, of course, Sid Going. The iconic North Auckland and All Black halfback will remain as one of Northland'sfavourite sons for many years to come.
Other names will most likely include Olympic Games equestrian Blyth Tait, All Black Ian 'Kamo' Jones, New Zealand squash icon Shelley Kitchen, Black Cap Bryan Young, and many more.
Sid Going will be a Northland sporting hero for generations to come. Photo / File
Today's sporting superstars from the land of the kauri are also making their case to be considered among the greats of Northland sport. Rugby exports Jack Goodhue and Scott Gregory would be chief among them as we wait and see how far the vast talent in our secondary schools will go in their code of choice.
However, over the past week or so, two very talented sportspeople have put their hand up for recognition and rightly so. Para athletes Cameron Leslie and Emma Foy have as much right as anyone to be considered a Northland sport legend prospect after their recent efforts.
Leslie, 29, earned two gold medals (including a world record) at the Para Swimming World Championships in London last week. His effort in the pool deserves even more acclaim when you consider Leslie earned a bronze medal the week before with the Wheel Blacks (New Zealand's wheelchair rugby team) at the Asia Oceania Zonal Championships in Korea.
Not to be outdone by her Northland counterpart, 30-year-old cyclist Foy was crowned a world champion alongside her sighted pilot Hannah van Kampen after a well-executed ride in the women's BV1 road race last weekend at the UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships in the Netherlands, which added to her silver medal from earlier in the week.
Whangārei's Emma Foy (left) has been dominant in her field along with sighted pilot Hannah van Kampen (right). Photo / Allan McKenzie-SWpix.com
Both athletes are not new to the sporting scene. They both won medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Foy a silver and a bronze and Leslie a gold.
These are incredible achievements from two of our brightest sports stars and is nothing more than they deserve after the countless hours of training and preparation that go into these international competitions.
Added to the recent news that two of Northland's wheelchair basketballers have been selected for New Zealand's senior men's team to play in November (a first for Northland in recent memory), it shows the incredible talent across Northland's able-bodied and para athletes.
While para athletes are not often the first names to pop into someone's head when thinking about a region's sporting success, the likes of Foy and Leslie are etching their names into the rich tapestry of Northland's sporting legacy.
