Students chase Olympic glory
Four students from The University of Auckland will be competing at the London Olympic Games.
Kayaker Teneale Hatton, sailor Stephanie Hazard, football fern Katie Hoyle and Black Stick Stacey Michelsen will soon make their way to London with their respective teams to represent New Zealand at the 30th Olympiad.
“Studying at a top university and achieving at an international level in sport is a wonderful and rare achievement. The University is proud to support our elite athletes and we will be following their progress closely,” says Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon.
Commerce student Teneale Hatton will be competing in the Women’s K1 500m Sprint and has had a good lead in to the games with an improved world ranking of 12 and a year which has included victories over four of the world’s top 16 kayakers.
Stephanie Hazard, who is studying towards a Bachelor of Engineering, is also at her first Olympic Games, and will be at the helm of the Women’s Match Racing crew on the Elliott six-metre yacht.
Football midfielder Katie Hoyle, a Bachelor of Physical Education student, will be competing in her second Olympic Games, having also represented New Zealand in Beijing at the
2008 Olympics. With 62 caps for her country, Katie is one of the more experienced members of the team.
New Zealand Women’s Hockey midfielder Stacey Michelsen, a Law student, was named World Young Player of the Year in 2011 and is a promising talent on the global women’s hockey scene.
“This is a great moment for these four and one I’m sure they will treasure,” says Louis Rattray, Director for Sport and Recreation at the University. “To be competing at the Olympic Games is an amazing achievement and an acknowledgement of both an athlete’s ability and potential.
“It speaks volumes about the character of these women, and that of our other elite athletes who are able to combine their studies with the rigours of high performance sport. I look forward to congratulating them on their return.”
The following is a timeline of when our students will be competing. All dates are in New Zealand time.
Katie and the Football Ferns have three round robin games against Great Britain (26 July), Brazil (29 July) and Cameroon (1 August).
Stephanie’s first race day for the Women’s Elliott six-metre is on Monday 30 July with the medal races taking place on Sunday 12 August.
Stacey and the Black Sticks start their campaign on 30 August against Australia. New Zealand is listed in Pool B and will play five games in the space of nine days to qualify for the finals.
Teneale’s first heat for the K1 500m Canoe Sprint will be held on 7 August with finals scheduled for 9 August.
