07/06/2026
Injury doesn't stop Reiley Thomas from winning Silver
It wasn’t a great start for Reiley Thomas from Whanganui High School as he lined up for the 100metres in the Under 18 category at the Oceania Athletic Championships held recently in Darwin Australia. “I was on the blocks close to starting, when I felt my hip go.” It had done that before, but he thought he was over it.
But that didn’t stop him. In fact he ran 11.49seconds, good enough to get 4th.
On the next day he was due to compete in the long jump. He was hoping for a high 6 metres through to 7, but he achieved 5.78. His father, Ryan Thomas, who accompanied him to Darwin, said, “It looked like Reiley was struggling to jump straight.”
However, the New Zealand team was in the 100metres final and Reiley helped them win silver. He says, “I ran the bend section which was easier for me with my hip.” The time was 42.56 seconds, very fast when you compare it to the Commonwealth Games standard of 39 seconds. At only 16, Reiley was the youngest member of the team.
He is already looking forward to competing at the 2028 games when he will be in his final year of school.
As for Darwin, the temperature was 34 degrees getting off the plane. When he did the long jump it was 36, and there were no gazebos to shelter in as they would have blocked the views of the cameras. “I had a zip lock bag full of ice on my neck for most of the day.” Ryan adds, “The wind was hot as well.”
In their time off they visited the nearby national park and the Under 18 New Zealand group checked out the city. Otherwise, they lived in the swimming pool, which was colder, just, than the air temperature.
Ryan describes Darwin as “a beautiful place with minimal traffic issues. The beaches are beautiful, but thanks to sea water crocodiles and jelly fish, unsafe to swim.
The New Zealand team covering juniors, seniors, para athletes and masters was one of the biggest athletics teams out of New Zealand with a 156 athletes.
Reiley is back to training, although there will be a break from competitions for about four months.
