Colyer targets personal best at Oceania championships

Southland leaper Sam Colyer will attempt to break through a couple of barriers to set a new personal best when he represents New Zealand at the Oceania athletics championships later this month. 

Colyer has had his challenges this year; a back injury hindering his jumping, along with the lingering disappointment of narrowly missing out on what would have been a massive best jump in March. 

The Southland Boys’ High School student and Academy Southland athlete has a personal best in the long jump of 6.98m and would love nothing more than turning that number into something starting with a seven when the championships get underway in Townsville on June 25. 

“My main goal is to jump over 7m legally. My PB now is 6.98m and 7m is a massive goal of mine. I would say in New Zealand 7m is a significant number for under 18 jumpers, but it’s more a personal thing, just trying to get over the boundary of the next metre,” he said. 

If you are trying to imagine what 7m looks like - adult giraffes can grow to 6m, or picture three and a half double mattresses lying down end to end.  

“I’ve done it in competition, but it wasn’t legal. At club nationals in March I did a 7.20m jump and my foot was over by less than a millimeter. That was a bit of a setback mentally, but I’ve been preparing for the next competition hoping I can jump over that.” 

Colyer has video of that March jump and it looks as smooth and perfect as it felt at the time. 

It’s that potential that has helped drive him during a routine that includes four to five training sessions a week, along with three gym sessions under the watchful eye of Academy Southland strength and conditioning coach Tyson Huia in the Mike Piper Training Centre gym at the SIT Velodrome. 

Colyer’s coach Chris Knight is pleased with his young charge’s progress despite recent weather disrupting training sessions. 

“I'm excited for him, he’s had a couple of big jumps lately at local events with no atmosphere. The big thing we’ve been talking about is focusing on the process rather than the outcome, on getting all the other stuff right rather than just trying to go out and jump 7m.” 

The Oceania championships in Townsville will be Colyer’s fourth taste of international competition in the past two years, testament to his development and the continuation of a legacy which has seen Southland dominate New Zealand triple jumping over the past decade. 

In an article two years ago, Southland jumping coach Lance Smith, who has been instrumental in the creation of that dominance, wrote that the province had won about a third of the national titles on offer in triple jump over the past 10 years. 

An ongoing back injury has meant Colyer has had to focus more on long jump than triple jump in recent times, although he’s hoping to compete in both in Townsville. 

“My lower back injury is hindering me more in the triple jump than the long jump. It still hurts in both, but it’s like a sharp stabbing pain in my back and sometimes it gets to the point where it’s hard to walk out of the pit after a jump. I’ve been improving and I haven’t really felt it recently,” he said. 

“It first came on about three years ago. We’ve had x-rays, done the rehab and we just don’t know exactly what it is.” 

It’s obviously been a focus for Knight, who has been looking to refine Colyer’s take off to minimise the stress on his back. 

“Sam gets instant feedback on whether he’s got the right technique or not. If he’s overstretching when he gets to the board, his back starts to hurt. It might only be a 10 or 15 degree difference with his body position, but it makes a big difference.” 

Colyer is in his second year with the Academy and has found the services on offer invaluable for his development. 

“The Academy is going amazing. The gym work we get through Tyson has been a major help. Aimee (Hall) has put me on the right path with my nutrition, because I didn’t used to be a good eater, and the seminars are always helpful. I couldn’t ask for anything better,” he said. 

“I was a bit of a fussy eater. I wouldn’t eat a lot of the food that was put in front of me, unfortunately, and throughout the day I would turn to sweet food. I’ve been trying new things and Aimee has been helping with that, so my diet has been a lot better. I feel a lot better now because of that.”