School hosts breakfast with champion

After well over a decade of international travel, champion New Zealand discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina has had breakfast in countless places.

However, she has no hesitation in naming the best place for a morning meal. "Home is always the best breakfast, without fail," she laughed.

Faumuina had breakfast with students at Salisbury School this morning, as part of her role as an ambassador for the KickStart Breakfast Programme.

She said the programme provided breakfast to 300 low-decile schools a week, and aimed to teach children about the importance of a nutritious start to the day.

"I want to encourage the girls and students with any choices they have to make, and encourage them to have a good breakfast."

As an athlete who trained up to 24 hours a week, Faumuina said fuelling up in the morning was vital to ensuring her body was able to keep up. After leaving Salisbury School, she was heading to the gym for a workout before visiting Bowater Toyota and having a tour of the new Saxton Stadium.

She is slowly building towards the national championships as she looks to qualify for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

She needs to meet the qualification mark of 56 metres to reach her fifth Commonwealth Games.

Faumuina was confident of meeting that mark, and said competing in India would be a great experience. "Everyone said Beijing was going to be something, but I think India might be something quite different and unique."

Tanya-Lee Wanikau-Kopu, 15, said it was "a bit scary" meeting Faumuina, but enjoyed performing a welcome for her when she arrived. "She's really strong."

Rebecca Shield, 11, said: "It was cool, it's exciting."

- © Fairfax NZ News