Age no barrier to high performance

Athletics, cycling and rowing feature in the shortlist for this year’s NZME Masters Achievement award at the ILT Southland Sports Awards.

All four finalists continue to prove that age is no barrier to performing at a high level.

The winners of all eight categories, along with this year’s Active Southland Services to Sport recipients, will be announced at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill on June 9.

The first of the finalists is Dwight Grieve, who had a thirdplace finish in the New Zealand open men’s trail running championships.

This was enough to earn Grieve, at the tender age of 45, selection in the New Zealand team for the world mountain and trail running championships.

Grieve comfortably won the masters category and over the past decade has now won 10 nonstadia national age group titles.

Our second finalist is last year’s winner of this category, Gail Kirkman, who dominated her 70–74 years category at the New Zealand masters athletics championships, winning four gold medals and breaking two national and four championship records in the process.

A finalist at the New Zealand Masters Athletics Awards, the Fiordland Athletics Club member was named the Masters Hurdler of the Year.

The third finalist is a legend of southern rowing since he first started with Bluff’s Awarua Boating Club in 1963 and is respected by rowers across the country. Rex Ryan won four golds and a bronze medal from five events at the NZ Masters championships in September.

He also won four titles from six events at the South Island Masters championships in June.

The fourth finalist was the first masters woman in New Zealand to break the 12-second barrier for the Flying 200m time trial on the track.

Geertien Venter continues to keep younger riders in the open category honest and was a key part of the Southland elite women’s sprint team that won silver at the national championships in Invercargill in March.