KEY POINTS:
Olympic medal hopeful Sarah Walker might trot the globe, but an act of generosity means she'll always consider herself a "Kawerau girl".
The 20-year-old BMX rider will race for gold on August 21 in front of her parents and brother, although that didn't always look likely. Walker's parents were victims of a well-publicised internet sting, with bogus websites selling non-existent tickets to Olympic events.
Sue and Graham Walker missed out on tickets from the New Zealand Olympic Committee's official agent, Premier Events Asia Pacific. So they turned to www.beijingticketing.com for tickets to the BMX, volleyball and closing ceremony.
However, the Arizona-based website had no tickets to sell, ripping off thousands of would-be spectators.
The Walkers eventually received tickets through Premier Events, as did the parents of other New Zealand athletes caught in the scam, but were left $4000 out of pocket.
That's where the good folk of the mill town came in.
According to Sarah, the town's firefighters took their appliances for a drive last week and, although the town's population is less than 7000, they rustled up more than $5000. Then they managed to squeeze a little more out of the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill.
"It was awesome, I was so proud," Walker said. "All that money went to my parents to make up for the money they were scammed. The difference went to pay for my brother, Matt, to come over."
Having Matt there was especially important to Sarah. She was drawn to the sport while standing beside the BMX track watching him blat around.
"I'm a Kawerau girl," Walker said. "It's not the richest place in the world but it'll always be my home town."
