Jaren Roy
Then: Roy, a year 10 student at Logan Park High School, had toured Australia with the New Zealand under-16 development basketball team and was enjoying being coached by the school’s greatest hoops product, Mark Dickel.
Now: Roy still lives in Dunedin, where he completed a commerce degree after his schooling. He has worked for the past three years as a tax consultant at an accounting firm. He battled injuries at the end of his school days so took a long break from basketball while at university. Now he enjoys hooping at a social level.
Kiana Pelasio
Then: The multi-talented Otago Girls’ High School student was balancing three sports. She was a New Zealand touch representative, had attended a national youth netball camp, and was dabbling in basketball.
Now: Pelasio is in Wellington, where she played several netball games for the Pulse this year after previously having been in the Steel squad. She also captained Central Manawa in the national league. Pelasio works for the University of Otago at its Wellington campus, after studying human resource management and strategic management at Otago Polytechnic.
Kensa Randle on deck at her Auckland business.
Kensa Randle
Then: An extensive training regime had led Randle to leave Dunstan High School and study via correspondence. She was the New Zealand under-18 canoe slalom champion and had already represented New Zealand around the world.
Now: Randle lives in Auckland, where she recently completed a business and technology degree and has launched an AI agency, Bright Think, looking at AI tools and strategies. She has put her canoe slalom career on hold for now but enjoys supporting former team-mates, and was thrilled to see Finn Butcher win gold at the Paris Olympics. Randle said she enjoyed being a fulltime athlete — getting to spend several months a year in Europe was "a dream come true", and a highlight was going to China for the Youth Olympics in 2014 — but realised she needed to step away from that world to fulfil her potential.
Anna Grimaldi meets Prime Minister John Key at the 2014 Class Act function.
Aaron and Bradley Tarleton
Then: The Taieri College brothers were throwing places. Bradley, 17, was the New Zealand under-18 hammer throw champion, and Aaron, 14, was a South Island schools champion in the same discipline.
Now: Bradley said the Tarleton lads were no longer involved in athletics. His career "never really took off" after school. Bradley, now living in London, said he was regularly told he had potential as a thrower but he mainly enjoyed sport to socialise with friends.
Anna Grimaldi celebrates 200m gold at the Paris Paralympics in September.
Anna Grimaldi
Then: The effervescent Bayfield High School student and Class Act recipient was an emerging star of the para athletics scene. She had won eight gold medals at the New Zealand championships and smashed 16 national records. Grimaldi was "maybe" aiming at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Now: An emerging star? Try rock star. Grimaldi did not take long to join the pantheon of Otago sporting greats. She not only qualified for the Rio Paralympics but she soared to gold in the T47 long jump. Then she did it again at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Paralympics. Then she won gold (200m) and bronze (100m) in Paris a couple of months ago. A delightful human being and an inspirational athlete, Grimaldi has led a revolution in para sport next to fellow Otago athlete Holly Robinson.
Rebecca Dellaway serving in 2014.
Rebecca Dellaway
Then: Aged just 15, the Waitaki Girls’ High School tennis player had won the Otago Open, and she was aiming to earn a scholarship to a college in the United States.
Now: Dellaway lives in Levin, where she works on the Kapiti Coast as a family and criminal lawyer after completing a double degree at Canterbury University. She still plays tennis but only recently returned to the sport after suffering a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus while playing netball last year. She plays tennis in the Wellington premier grade for Khandallah, and has been selected in the Manawatu senior representative team. Dellaway earned a scholarship to play division one college tennis at Binghamton University, in New York.
Rebecca Dellaway on her graduation day.
Kate and Georgia Heffernan
Then: The 14-year-old Blue Mountain College twins were shining in cricket, basketball and athletics — and they could also play a little netball, following in the footsteps of their mother, Annette, who was a Silver Fern.
Now: Follow in those footsteps they did. Kate made her test debut in July 2022 and has since become an integral member of the Silver Ferns. She was named best midcourter at the 2023 Netball World Cup, and also won the inaugural Sandra Edge Medal (Silver Ferns player of the year) in March. Kate, long a key part of the Southern Steel squad, also played 28 games for the Otago cricket team, taking four for 21 to lead the Sparks to victory in the 2016-17 domestic T20 final. She then played two games for the White Ferns in 2018. There was a special moment earlier this year when Georgia made her Silver Ferns debut. They became the third set of sisters to play test netball for New Zealand and the first set to be in the team at the same time. Georgia, a shooter, is also a Steel regular, and also played cricket for the Sparks. The sisters were in the St Hilda’s cricket team that won the national schools title.
Alex Hanan training in 2014.
Alex Hanan
Then: Memorably labelled a "young, white Sugar Ray Robinson", the John McGlashan College student was turning heads in the boxing world. He won a New Zealand Golden Gloves title and was named best junior boxer at the tournament.
Now: The nickname changed to "Sweet Hands" and Hanan’s talent in the boxing ring only grew. He moved to Sydney, where he built an almost impeccable record before being invited to spar with three-time world champion Anthony Mundine. Hanan won the Australian middleweight title in 2022. Now going by Alex Walters, his fight record stands at 20 wins and just two losses.
Alex Hanan weighing in for a big fight in 2021.
Isobel Ryan
Then: The St Kevin’s College head girl and Class Act recipient had won three gold medals and broken five Otago records at the New Zealand short-course swimming championships and was applying for scholarships at American colleges.
Now: Ryan is based in Australia after a period of travelling around the globe. She works in mental health and wellbeing, focusing on mental health literacy and social connection. Swimming is now merely for recovery after a gym session. She spent four years in the pool at the University of Wyoming, winning gold in the 100m backstroke in her conference in 2019. Ryan said her top-level career was demanding but it had led to some amazing opportunities and friendships.
Tame Govaerts pumping weights in 2014.
Tame Govaerts
Then: The King’s High School swimmer was making a splash with his efforts in the pool. He won two gold medals in breaststroke at the New Zealand age group championships.
Now: Govaerts is still in Dunedin, where he is completing a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology along with a PhD in psychology. He stopped swimming in 2019 after losing his passion for the sport. He regularly thinks about getting back in the pool but is enjoying the challenges of study too much. His highlight was representing New Zealand in 2016 at the Australian state teams championship, and swimming at an American college in 2018-2019.
Tame Govaerts feeling weightless some years later.
Phoebe Steele
Then: The Columba College Class Act recipient had been selected for both the Junior Black Sticks and the New Zealand under-19 touch team.
Now: Steele lives in Auckland, where she works as park ranger after studying for a double degree in science (zoology and marine ecology) and business. She still plays hockey, having recently spent a season in the English league, but stopped playing high-level touch two years ago. Steele made her Black Sticks debut in 2016 and toured Argentina a year later, and played at two Touch World Cups.
■Phoebe Young (Mount Aspiring College, cycling and multisport) and Jahnas Barbarich-Stevenson (taekwondo) also featured in the series in 2014.
