Southland teen leaps to new heights
Teenage high jumper Will Brown doesn’t have to look far for motivation.
Brown recently won the national under-16 high jump title with an impressive effort and hopes that it can kickstart him on to bigger and better things.
With athletics in Southland not flush for fellow high jumpers as he gets older, Brown’s lucky he doesn’t need to look far for advice or motivation with a fellow high jumper still representing Southland: Quinn Hartley still dons the Southland singlet and Brown wants to follow in his footsteps.
“Quinn is great, he always provides me with useful tips and motivation, and he is someone I definitely look up to. He’s always so open to helping me and I really appreciate his support.”
At the national track and field championships in Wellington last month, the James Hargest College athlete did admit to nerves, but once he managed his first jump, he said they disappeared.
“It was great for a first experience to see what it is all about. Winning gold capped it off nicely.”
Doing well when he was younger gave Brown the motivation to give athletics a more serious crack, he said.
“I enjoy competing and pushing myself and seeing the potential I can reach, coming up against people who have similar interests and are there to compete against you.”
He labelled high jump as his favourite over long jump, with the middle distance running events further down the pecking order.
“It’s definitely number one, my top achievement so far. It was really cool seeing the top athletes in New Zealand compete.”
Hamish Kerr, Tom Walsh, Jacko Gill, Tori Peeters and Eliza McCartney were some of the top NZ athletes he saw in Wellington.
“I am aiming to keep getting better every season and keep improving everything. I want to keep increasing my jumping heights and distances.”
Brown admitted his season started slowly in high jump.
“It didn’t begin very well but as the season has progressed it’s become better and better. To win at nationals was the cherry on top for me. It was nice to beat some of my main rivals. Chris [coach Chris Knight] has been great as a coach he pushes me to get the best out of myself.”
Knight said Brown had made big improvements since he first took the sport seriously.
“He did really well. I have been training him for a few years. He’s coming along nicely. It is a bit of a shame that his long jump wasn’t what he wanted at nationals, but that is sport.
“He did really well. To get a personal best and then win was even better. He had a real close attempt at 1.79m. At Colgate Games I did tell him he would get 1.80m. He has a spring in his step, that’s for sure. There was great team support there.”
As a basketballer, high jump and long jump suited him as sports, Brown said.
“I like athletics slightly more, but basketball is fun because it’s in the winter and is a team sport. I also play a bit of rugby as well.”