Hinewai Knowles | Sport

My name is Hinewai Knowles and I am the eldest of five. I am in my last year at Cambridge High School in New Zealand and currently 2020 Deputy Head Girl and co-chair of the Sports committee (a student leader). My hobbies are soccer and sailing. I love music play the flute, create origami pieces and I love learning Japanese.

I am very proud to be doing athletics and I absolutely love sprinting and being at the start line. I run 100m, 100m hurdles and relay. I started doing athletics at the end of Year 8, so I was a bit of a late starter compared to my peers. I was a multi athlete but I soon starting specializing in hurdles and sprints from Year 10 onwards. I have continued sailing and playing football, having represented Cambridge High School in athletics, sailing and football.

One of my favourite athletics highlights would be when I won the Junior 80m hurdles in 2017 at the New Zealand Secondary Schools nationals in Napier. The year before this (2017) I did not even make it through the first round of heats. Another highlight – which would be my favourite – is when I won both the Senior 100m sprint and 100m hurdles at the last New Zealand Secondary School Championships. I also broke the 100m hurdle record, which is a great accomplishment.

I hope to progress and continue doing well with athletics through hard effort and determination. I can’t wait to represent my country in the future.