News & Updates

As part of our Athletics for Everybody campaign we speak to White Ferns siblings Amelia and Jess Kerr who reflect enthusiastically on their time at Olympic Harriers and how it played a positive role on their subsequent cricket careers.

Jess and Amelia Kerr may be best known for their stellar accomplishments as White Ferns cricketers but the siblings owe so much of their sporting success thanks to their athletics background.

For a large portion of their school years the two sisters competed for Olympic Harriers in Wellington with varying degrees of success, but each looks back with immense fondness to their time in the sport.

Jess, now aged 25 and two years the senior of Amelia, was the first to be introduced to the sport at the age of seven. Initially joining Onslow Athletic Club before one year later reverting to Olympic Harriers, where she was a member for nine years, she has a raft of happy memories of her time there.

“Athletics was probably my first sporting love,” explains Jess. “I made so many friendships at Olympic, many I still have today. I remember club nights, running, jumping and throwing and while it was an individual sport because you got to hang out with your friends it felt like a team sport.”

Following in the wake of Jess, Amelia joined Olympic at the age of six. While not quite enjoying the same level of athletics prowess as her big sister she too reflects on her time in the sport with huge positivity.

“I loved our club nights, having a go at everything, the fun relays and then sausage sizzle at the end,” explains Amelia. “The Colgate Games was my favourite event. I loved going away with all the families, it was like a holiday. I made so many great friends through the club.”

Around the age of ten, Jess specialised as a middle-distance runner and developed into a leading age-group performer. She won 800m and 1500m gold medals at the Colgate Games and in 2013 finished a highly respectable seventh in the 1500m at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Hamilton. Unfortunately, a combination of injury and her burgeoning cricket career put a halt to her athletics career, but she acknowledges her development as an athlete paved the way for her future sporting success.

“Because it is an individual sport and you have to hold yourself accountable it gives you a strong work ethic,” she says. “I trained every day as a middle-distance runner, so it taught me the value of hard work to succeed in sport.”

Amelia, who also claimed middle-distance medals at Colgate Games as well as the discus and was good enough to make a Wellington Rep team, stepped away from track and field at the age of 13 to focus on her cricket career. While her personal athletics record doesn’t match the achievements of Jess she does, however, still believe athletics had multiple benefits in her development.

“For me personally playing a lot of franchise cricket I’ve had to talk to different people at many different clubs around the world and those people skills were first learned talking to lots of different people at athletics nights,” explains Amelia.

“Because athletics has a huge focus on run, jump and throw it allowed me to pick up those skills more quickly and provided more of a strong base not only for cricket but playing football as a youngster. Competing in athletics also built up mental toughness and resilience. I would definitely recommend the sport to others.”

***To find your local athletics club go here