Top hammer thrower Dyani Shepherd-Oates ready for senior ranks

Two moments in particular have delivered Southlander Dyani Shepherd-Oates – New Zealand’s best junior hammer thrower – to the precipice of what promises to be an exciting senior athletics career.

The 19-year-old remembers her mother, a talented secondary schools hurdler in her time, bringing home a hammer for her to try on the family farm, near Mararoa School on the way to Te Anau.

“At the time there were a few older girls in Southland that were throwing and I thought it looked pretty cool,” Shepherd-Oates recalls.

“Mum jacked up a 3kg hammer for me and we got out into a paddock, stood in the middle and then I swung this thing around my head a couple of times and let it go. I don’t even know what direction it went in, but I remember thinking that I’d like to give this a go and it’s just gone from there. It was a little bit freaky, but it was also exhilarating.”

Shepherd-Oates had been an enthusiastic athletics competitor through primary school, gaining some success as a runner.

However, as she got into her early teens she found herself gravitating towards the throwing events.

“I have always really loved the discus and when I started throwing the hammer I found I enjoyed it even more. They are both great events. I still enjoy running and swimming and other sports, but it’s throwing the hammer that I really love,” she said.

“I just love the movement. I get so much joy out of trying to improve my technique and attempting to make it look even easier.”

The other defining moment for Shepherd-Oates came in her final year competing at the New Zealand secondary schools champs, in Hastings in 2017.

Ranked in the top two throwers in the country, Shepherd-Oates was as close to a medal certainty as you can get, but she put all three of her qualifying throws into the side of the cage and didn’t even make the top eight finals.

“I think that was the moment I decided I really wanted to pursue hammer throwing more seriously. For some athletes, having that at the end of their school career, they might have just wanted to put it in the past and do something else. For me, I wanted to commit and do better,” she said.

“Technically something was just off that day and I put three into the cage. I cried a little bit afterwards. I went away and thought my way through it. Then, you talk to other coaches, other athletes - it happens to everyone a few times. Yes, it hurts at the time – you've put so much work into your training so that you can do well, and then you don’t. It’s character building.”

Shepherd-Oates loved the support she has received from the Fiordland Athletics Club, as well as working with Invercargill-based coach Chris Knight, but a move to Dunedin and renowned throwing coach Raylene Bates has seen her throwing improve exponentially.

“Fiordland has been absolutely amazing and I’ve loved my time at the club, and to this day they remain really supportive and I enjoy getting back to see them and compete with them, but it’s just a bit too far for throwing training,” she said.

“Moving to Raylene’s squad has been fantastic and I’m absolutely loving it. She has such an extensive knowledge of the sport and a fantastic understanding of all four of the throws. She really ‘gets’ different athletes, she can understand what you need and what needs to be done for you to improve. She’s also an amazing lady, she’s great fun.”

Shepherd-Oates, who completed certificates in information technology and business management at Otago Polytechnic in 2018 before starting a Bachelor of Commerce at Otago University this year, won the New Zealand track and field under 20 women’s hammer throw title in 2018 with a throw of 43m.

She returned in March and defended her title, this time with a throw of 49m, an impressive 6m improvement in 12 months. A silver medal at the Oceania championships was another highlight from last summer.

Shepherd-Oates turns 20 in February and will step up to the senior ranks for the New Zealand track and field champs in March.

While she’s the best under 20 thrower in the country, she will be the fifth or sixth ranked senior thrower when she graduates.

Photo: Dyani Shepherd-Oates, right, and top Southland schoolgirl hammer thrower Teagan Ashley. Pic: Nathan Burdon

“It will be a change, but I’m very excited to be a senior athlete and finally getting to compete against the other senior girls,” she said.

The future is an exciting prospect.

“In throwing you definitely peak later in your 20s. I’d like to think I’ve got a few years left in me, but I’m excited for them.

“I would just like to throw as far as it’s possible for me to throw. I’m very much focused on personal progression, working hard and just throwing further and further and I’ll just see where it all goes. I just want to be the best athlete I can possibly be.”