Nelson College sprinter Bradley Kershaw has claimed a bronze medal in the under-18 200m at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, producing a standout performance in his first appearance for New Zealand.
The Year 11 athlete qualified fourth for the final with a time of 22.60 before storming home in 21.80 to secure third place at Arafura Stadium.
The under-18 200m record is held by world sprint sensation Gout Gout, adding further weight to the achievement.
For Bradley, the championships marked his first time wearing the silver fern and racing internationally.
“It was my first time representing New Zealand, so was such an amazing opportunity to go overseas and represent my country and be able to represent it with such talented athletes.”
Competing in the tropical conditions of Darwin brought new challenges, particularly around preparation.
“It was really hot which was so nice holiday wise, but trainings and race wise it was a lot different. I had to customize my warmup times and make sure I stayed on top of my little things a lot more compared to back home.”
Bradley went into the championships focused on experience rather than results, stepping up to race against older athletes.
“I was really happy with how I went. Going in I was just looking at it purely for experience, as it was my first time representing and racing against older international guys - so to come out with a bronze, I couldn’t be happier.”
Balancing sprinting with rugby remains part of his plan moving forward.
Bradley has just been named in the Nelson College U16A rugby squad who begin training next month for the U16 Quad Tournament in Christchurch at the end of August.
“Being a multi-sport athlete, I find it a challenge committing to every training. But the plan is to keep going with rugby and sprinting for as long as possible. They go hand in hand quite well, so I’ll just keep taking all the opportunities I can while I’m still young.”
