Young Athlete Q&A: Ollie Davis

At the recent national secondary athletic champs Southland athletes secured three medals. Ollie Davis got two of them.

The Central Southland College and Winton 15 year old was, and to a degree, still is, a raw talent, pursuing coaching in his favoured events only this season.

Until then he did OK at children’s events but the secondary school champs was his first exposure to national level athletics and two bronze medals resulted. In fact in the long jump he missed silver by just 1cm.

We talked to him about his journey so far and what might be ahead.

How long have you been doing Athletics and what got you started?

I first got into athletics when I was 8 trying high jump at school. I liked the idea of jumping higher than all my mates. I didn’t really start getting serious about athletics until I was 14 when I competed at the Colgate Games in Invercargill for the first time.

What’s your favourite event?

I love jumping. It’s hard to choose a favourite but high jump and long jump would be my top two. I love the feeling of flying through the air.

What do you want to achieve in sport?

My long term goal would be to represent New Zealand in athletics. I also would love to see myself with a university scholarship for athletics in the United States. After all, two from my school (Atipa Mabonga and Jack Beaumont) achieved this in recent times. At the moment I‘m concentrating on improving my ability and skills.

What has been your most satisfying competition?

I really loved how the last Southland Secondary School Champs went in 2022. I got 4 PBs out of the 4 events I did. I followed that up with 2 bronze medals at NZ Secondary School Champs in Taranaki. I was pretty stoked to get my name on the National Rankings for Under 18s too.

What other sports do you do?

Throughout the years I have played lots of different sports including cricket, basketball, netball, football and volleyball. I’m still playing volleyball and basketball. I think playing different sports has really helped my athletic ability and fitness levels.

Do you get good support?

Mum and Dad are at all my events and provide a very good taxi service to and from trainings and events. They are always encouraging me to do my best and are often helping out at different events. I feel my coach (Lance Smith) has a coaching style that suits my personality. I like the way he doesn’t sugar coat things and he’s very knowledgeable and supportive. As are my training mates.

What is the best part of athletics?

The social side. I like training with like-minded people. We take our training seriously, but we also have our fun. I like how we are supportive of each other and cheer each other on at competitions.

We often give others tips and pointers that are easier seen from the sidelines. And I like to challenge myself, to improve on my latest results.