The ASB Otago Sports Awards got under way earlier this week. Today Adrian Seconi profiles the three finalists in the PKF Junior Sportsman of the Year category.
Cross-country skier
Campbell Wright
The 17-year-old Hawea Flat athlete stunned the New Zealand cross-country skiing community with some tremendous results at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Switzerland earlier this year.
He had been hoping for a top 20 finish but outdid himself.
Wright just missed out on a spot on the podium in the 7.5km biathlon sprint. He finished fourth out of a field of 99.
And earlier at the Games he had nabbed sixth place in 12.5km event.
Campbell was actually leading the sprint event during the early stage before dropping back to fourth.
The sport involves a combination of power (skiing) and precision (shooting). While it is not a well-known sport in New Zealand, it is very popular in parts of Europe, so it was a wonderful effort.
Wright was selected as New Zealand’s flag-bearer for the opening ceremony and also strung together some other impressive results during the qualification period.
He won the biathlon sprint and claimed second in the biathlon pursuit event at the Italian nationals, and finish sixth in the biathlon sprint at the under-19 world championships.
Cricketer
Beckham Wheeler-Greenall
He is a dab hand at indoor bowls as well.
But Beckham Wheeler-Greenall’s future appears to lie on the cricket field.
The 17-year-old was one of New Zealand’s best players at the ICC under-19 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.
The promising Taieri all-rounder struck an unbeaten 75 from 83 deliveries in the semifinal against eventual champion Bangladesh.
He dragged his side through to useful tally of 211 for eight. Bangladesh overhauled the target with six wickets in hand but Wheeler-Greenall’s knock was impressive nonetheless.
He found the gaps, he found the boundary rope and the year 13 King’s High School pupil looked as if he was batting on a different surface from his team-mates.
He finished the tournament as New Zealand’s second-leading scorer with 186 runs at an average of 62.
On his return home he has impressed when given opportunities for Otago A, and he was a key figure in Taieri’s batting line-up, particularly in the one-day unit.
In eight one-dayers for his club this season, he amassed 334 runs at an average of 167.
Freeskier
Nico Porteous
Wanaka’s Nico Porteous claimed bronze in the halfpipe at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018 aged just 16.
He felt like vomiting at the top of the run but still pulled off an incredible performance despite a terrible dose of nerves.
A couple of years on and the 18-year-old is still pulling off spectacular tricks while hurtling down a halfpipe or superpipe.
The highlight in the last 12 months was a bronze-medal effort in the superpipe at the Dew Tour in the United States in February. The Dew Tour is considered a pinnacle event within the sport, so it was top effort.
Porteous was also a crucial member of the winning team in the team challenge event. He was the highest-scoring athlete in the superpipe and continues to enhance his reputation as one of the best freeskiers in the world.
