It was the battle of siblings when the Taylor twins and Robb brothers competed each other for podium finishes in the same events at the recent NZ Secondary Schools Athletics Nationals held in Tauranga. Campbell and Toby Robb, Alice and Josie Taylor and Harrison Bond represented St Paul’s athletics team and achieved some great results despite battling dense humidity and blustery winds.

In the high jump event, athletes Alice and Josie Taylor were the last two competitors left jumping at a height of 1.76m. They both cleared the first jump, kicking off an exciting battle between two sisters fighting for gold. Alice remained at 1.76m and Josie went on to clear 1.79m and attempted her personal best at 1.81m. While she didn’t achieve it, Josie still came away with first place and Alice second place.

The Robb brothers, Campbell and Toby, competed in the senior javelin together. Toby qualified for a spot in the finals with a 52.13m throw and despite the gusting winds not agreeing with Campbell’s throws, he also qualified for the finals. With three chances to throw in the finals, Campbell was determined to beat his younger brother’s previous distance. He threw a massive 54.14m on his final throw landing him in second place and putting Toby into third position.

Harrison Bond ran a good second place in 23.66 seconds in his favorite 200m sprint heat but was disqualified for running on the line. He performed well in his 100m sprint semi-final where he fought 2.9m/s headwinds, finishing in sixth place and in the 110m hurdles final he placed fifth in an exciting race where all competitors finished within a second of each other.

Congratulations to our five competing athletes who all made a final.