High jumper raising the bar

Anne Hardie

Ben Walker has broken the Tasman high jump record for under 20s three times this year and has soared beyond his height to clear 2m.

The 17-year-old Waimea College student cleared 2m at the recent Australian Athletics Championships, though the first time he cleared 2m was a month earlier at the New Zealand national championships.

That jump earned him sec- ond place in the competition while the Australian jump gave him the number one ranking in New Zealand under 20 - and he is just getting started.

Ben has been involved with athletics since he was eight and began taking a serious interest in high jump when he “popped over” 1.8m as a 15-year-old. This season he has competed around the country including an international track meet in Christchurch, competing against the best jumpers under 20. His best jump to date is 2.04m and he is aiming higher.

He says it is very much a mental game, facing a bar that is higher than his height of 1.86m and believing he can clear it.

“I have it in my mind that I can make this bar. You have to have a positive mindset, especially breaking the 2m barrier.

“When I go into competitions, it’s really just me and the bar.”

He attributes much of his success to his run-up to the bar and he works on that during the four training sessions he has each week with his coaching father Chris, who puts him through a mix of jumping and running.

Ben’s sights are now set on extending his personal best (PB) as far as he can, the New Zealand secondary school championships at the end of the year and, down the track, qualifying for the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships.