News & Updates

It is heartening to hear that “fun” and “friendship” have been at the core of the athletics experience of Mia de Jager.

The versatile 15-year-old of Hamilton City Hawks caught the eye at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track, Field and Road Championships in December setting huge new PB’s to win the junior girls’ high jump with a best of 1.75m and the following day claim the junior girls’ 400m title in a blistering 55.49.

Yet throughout her athletics journey, Mia has remained consistent to her core belief that athletics should be fun and the camaraderie the sport offers fully embraced.

“I’ve always really enjoyed the sport,” explains Mia. “I love being part of our training group, it is always a lot of fun. It may sound funny, but I bake for the training group, and we listen to music. It is like one big family, which is nice.”

As Mia’s mum, Lola, confirms: “Mia enjoys the people she is surrounded with in athletics. There is not a night she doesn’t come home and tells us a story about training. There’s always something that excites her – that is the best part of her athletics involvement.”

Born in Hamilton to South African born parents, Mia first took up athletics at primary school. She initially engaged in sprinting but was very much the second quickest sprinter in her year group.

The experience of consistently finishing second might have left some athletes despondent yet that was not the case with Mia and it was thanks to the Waddell family (including Olympic rowing champion, Rob, and former international rower, Sonia) who encouraged the De Jager family to join an athletics club.

“We didn’t know about athletics clubs until Sonia mentioned Mia should join a club,” says Lola. “This was her introduction to more formal athletics.”

While the club scene accelerated the development of the emerging athlete, Mia had already embedded a passion for high jump at primary school. Regularly asking her teacher if she could do high jump, she admits: “I love that feeling of going up in the air and seeing how high I could jump.”

Initially joining the Frankton Athletics club, Mia later moved on to Fairfield Athletic Club and more latterly Hamilton City Hawks and throughout her athletics journey she says she has forged many enduring friendships and been blessed by quality coaches.

Yet one constant for much of her athletics journey has been the Colgate Games – an annual highlight for Mia.

During her final year of eligibility for Colgate Games in January last year she competed at the North Island event in Wellington; winning gold in the high jump, 400m silver and 200m bronze before the following week competing at the South Island event, snaring high jump and 200m gold medals and a 400m silver medal.

“I competed at both events because I wanted to visit a new place and Invercargill was the best environment,” she says. “I made some really good friends on that trip and now I’m really close to Jody McCarthy Dempsey (who won high jump silver behind Mia at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships last month).”

Just prior to the 2022 Jennian Homes New Zealand Track & Field Championships in Hastings, Mia made the next significant move of her career by connecting with her current coach, Criss Strange.

Joining a new training group – in which Mia is the only high jumper – she has fully embraced the environment with mum, Lola, saying: “The culture of the group has all fallen together. The group is so cool, full of such a neat bunch of athletes.”

One of Criss and Mia’s first assignments together was the Jennian Homes New Zealand Track & Field Championships in Hastings last March when – aged just 14 at the time – she claimed a bronze medal in the women’s U18 high jump and placed fifth in the U18 400m final and seventh in the U18 200m.

It was an outstanding all-round effort as she set PB’s in the 200m (25.95) and 400m (58.26) and cleared 1.66m in the high jump – an all-round experience which provided incalculable benefits.

“Because of Covid it was pretty hard, and for the first time we as parents were not present,” explains Lola. “For the first time we had to leave her in the care of others. Criss did a great job and I believe Hastings helped build in Mia a great confidence and resilience.”

Training three to four times a week during the winter, the 1.80m tall Mia has worked hard on her craft – high jumping every Thursday with the remaining sessions devoted to speed and drills for physical development. For the Year 11 student at Rototuna High School student juggling the demands of both events is not easy, but thanks to the buoyant and upbeat training group, it is a task she has taken to with relish.

“It is always fun and listening to Criss’ music (of a particular vintage) is quite nice during sessions,” she adds.

“Criss has done so much for me. He is always asking how we are feeling going into to training. He asks, ‘have I stretched properly’? He checks nothing is hurting, so that training does not make it worse.”

The elixir clearly works. At the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Inglewood, Mia enjoyed the competition of her life to set two high jump PB’s and advance her previous best by 5cm to strike gold with 1.75m. The following day she returned to wipe the best part of three seconds from her 400m best to climb the top of the podium in a time of 55.49. 

It was an outstanding display from the teenage athlete as she took a seismic step forward in both events. So how does Mia – who enjoys all the events she competes in equally – reflect on her success in Taranaki?

“It took a long time to process, and it wasn’t until about 10pm that night (after the 400m) when I realised what I’d done,” she adds. “I feel confident in my preparation and all the events I do. I’ve grown so much.”

Since Inglewood, Mia has gone on to claim 100m (12.75) and 200m (25.09) PB’s in Tauranga on New Year’s Day to further augment her current rich vein of form. Her chief target for the remainder of the season is the 2023 Jennian Homes New Zealand Track & Field Championships in Wellington, where she plans to compete in high jump, 200m and 400m as well as possibly a relay.

So, what are her goals for the rest of the summer campaign?

“I just hope to keep on improving and growing in my abilities,” she explains. “I would love one day to travel and represent my country. I just love the excitement that the sport brings, the support and the friendships.”