Nor'West News: February 04, 2020

10
Tuesday February 4 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Pithie dominates
national track champs
SPORT
NOR’WEST NEWS
Fin the fastest
• By Jacob Page
CYCLIST LAURENCE Pithie
continues to win medals on the
track and
awards off it.
The 17-yearold
Christchurch
Boys’
High School
student won
seven national
titles at the
age-group
championships
Laurence Pithie
in Cambridge
last week and was named Cycling
New Zealand’s junior track rider
of the year.
Pithie won gold in the elite
25km madison event with
Thomas Sexton.
The talented teen combined
with fellow-Cantabrian Ryan
MacLeod, Joshua Scott and Hugo
Jones to win the elite 4000m
team pursuit.
He won the under-19 3000m
individual pursuit by more than
3sec from MacLeod.
Pithie was victorious in the
under-19 20km points race where
he finished on 29 points, eight
points clear of Waikato-Bay of
Plenty’s Zahk Patterson.
The dominance continued in
the under-19 20km omnium.
He scored 153 points which
The revolution
in heat pumps
is here now!
DETERMINED: Laurence Pithie is expected to be a key part of
New Zealand’s UCI junior track world championships team when
it is announced this week.
was 21 clear of teammate Matthew
Ownsworth.
The duo repeated the same
result in the 7.5km omnium
scratch race.
Pithie beat Southland’s Jacob
Willis for first in the omnium
tempo race.
He won the under-19 1000m
time trial by half a second from
Southland’s Michael Fitzsimons.
The southerner did get the
better of Pithie in the under-19
10km scratch final where he had
The revolution in heat pumps is here now!
Say hello to Fujitsu’s latest lifestyle range
The Fujitsu e3series
The brilliant
heat pumps from Fujitsu
to settle for the silver medal.
Pithie’s junior cyclist of the
year award for 2019 was given
for his top performances on
the track, in particular his two
gold medals in the omnium and
madison at the UCI junior track
cycling world championships, in
Frankfurt, Germany, last August.
Cycling New Zealand national
junior coach, Tim Carswell.is
expected to announce the 2020
squad for the event in Egypt this
week with Pithie expected to
feature heavily.
on his feet
• By Jacob Page
FIN CURTIS just loves to run
fast.
The 10-year-old who lives in
Merivale and who started at Cathedral
Grammar last week, won
six gold medals at the South Island
Colgate Games at Wigram’s
Nga Puna Wai, a fortnight ago.
Fin, who represents Christchurch
Avon Athletic Club, won
gold in the 10th grade 100m,
200m 400m, long jump, 4x100m
relay and medley relay.
“I just wanted to have fun and
do as best as I could,” Finn said.
“I was happy that I ran fast and
did my best.”
Fin was encouraged by family
friends to try the Christchurch
Avon club when he was sixyears-old
and now he works on
his sprinting twice a week for 90
minutes at a time.
His father, Guy Curtis said Fin
was always fast on his feet from
the moment he could walk so
they thought athletics would be a
good fit.
“He was always fast as a wee
nipper so we thought we’d see
SPEEDY: Sprinter Fin Curtis,
10, with his six gold medals
from the South Island Colgate
Games.
how he goes,” he said.
Fin plays rugby as a wing or
fullback for the Christchurch
rugby club and cricket as an
allrounder for Burnside.
He said one day he would like
to earn a track scholarship to an
American college.
e1 : efficiency
e2 : environment
e3 : economy
Website: www.pshc.co.nz
Finance available
NEW ZEALAND’S FAVOURITE AIR ®
Fujitsu’s Catechin Filters are
approved by the Asthma and
Respiratory Foundation NZ’s
Sensitive Choice ® programme.
FREE consultation from your local
Accredited Heat Pump Expert
Phone today: 03 381 6950
INSERT DEALER DETAILS HERE
Email: info@pshc.co.nz
www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org.nz
FG1441