Hi, I am Mikael, I am hoping to raise funds to compete in Wellington, Australia and Kenya where I will represent NZ
I’ve been involved in track and field since I was six years old in Auckland and I have been training competitively since I was eleven and moved to the beautiful Wairarapa. I’ve been lucky enough to have had my fair share of success over the years at the Colgate games, NZSSAA Championships and the NZ Track & Field Championships in the 400m and 800m with multiple gold and silver medal efforts. In 2018 I was stoked to be picked and named captain for the New Zealand Youth Olympic Trial Team which competed in Vanuatu at the Micronesian Games where I came 2nd and was selected as a reserve for the NZ Youth Olympic team which went to Argentina. In 2019 I was part of the NZSSAA Team for the 400m which went to Cairns, Australia.
My biggest goal for 2020 is to individually qualify for the U20 IAAF World Championships in Nairobi, Kenya and attending the many different local meets will give me the chance to improve my personal best times and reach the qualifying standards before the qualifying window is closed on the 29th of March 2020.
I would be very grateful with any support to help me in my 2020 Athletics season which is going to be very busy and means that there will be a lot of travel at the beginning of my university year. There are various “classic” and memorial meets around the country and in Australia that I’m hoping to participate in. I’m focusing on either the 400m or 800m; I’m currently a couple seconds away from both of these standards and being able to compete at these meets over the next couple months should definitely help me get my times down as they attract a lot of international senior athletes who can push me to the best of my ability. Recently, I was excited to be selected for the New Zealand U20 Relay Squad as part of the U20 Men’s 4x400m team who are hoping to qualify for Kenya too and will travel to Sydney for a compulsory trial at the Australian Under 20 Athletics Championships. I’ve been based in Wellington after finishing secondary school working and training hard towards my World Champs goals with my coaches Steve Willis and Gary Henley-Smith.
A challenge I’ve had to face was when I was diagnosed with ParoxysmaI Kinesigenic Dyskinesia in 2017 after struggling with spasms when sprinting from the age of 12. It is a slight neurological disorder which affects the nerves on the left side of my brain and makes them travel too fast to the right side of my body when I exert too much energy at once (e.g. sprinting, block start, box jumps) or when I use my ATP-CP energy system too suddenly. The condition makes my right wrist and right ankle lock up and distorts the right side of my face. After a troubling 2017-2018 season, I have been able to overcome this with the right medication and a mindset that 2020 is mine for the taking! I try to give back to the Athletics community and to the younger generation of track athletes when I can. Throughout 2017 and 2018 I helped train and coach Colgate /junior secondary schools athletes for Athletics Wairarapa and various secondary schools in the Wairarapa. In Wellington I am a Coach for Kelly Sports, I help coach and positively introduce the sport of Athletics to primary and intermediate aged school children all around Wellington and I also now help with coaching and organizing at club nights for Onslow Athletics Club when I can.
My biggest goals are definitely to compete for New Zealand at the Olympics and IAAF World Championships. The U20 IAAF World Championships in Nairobi, Kenya would be an amazing competition to participate in and I’d hope to run the best I ever have there. Coming away with big personal bests against international competition would be the highlight of my track career so far. This event would give me exposure to the track and field world and also valuable experience as it is such a prestigious meet with good competition. Going to Nairobi would be an absolute dream come true and I’d hope to make my parents, my country and myself proud!
Again, any support would be incredible and I have the utmost gratitude and respect for anybody who shows the generosity to donate!
Thank You, Mikael
