Sandra McGookin

Sandra McGookin was a five-time New Zealand javelin champion who competed at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games.

She grew up at Waitaki Bridge and attended the tiny primary school there, then went to Waitaki Girls’ High School.

Her parents owned the Georgetown store for several years and then ran a poultry farm. Her mother had represented Otago at table tennis and tennis and was a good netballer.

When Sandra was just a youngster, she attended a sports day at Enfield, where she was encouraged by prominent thrower Winnie Richards to concentrate on the javelin.

After she left high school, she started working with Graham Merrilees, a fine javelin thrower. She made the Otago team, but was beaten regularly by her rival, Sally Mene (who also competed at Christchurch in 1974 .

“Graham took me under his wing. If not for him, I probably wouldn't have achieved anything,” she said. “He was a really staunch coach. He made me train every day at Centennial Park. I needed somebody like him to take over. Technically, he was very good. I wasn't very big but he taught me good technique.”

In 1972, McGookin went to Australia to compete in the R H North Cup, her first taste of international competition.

The next was the Commonwealth Games, where she finished 6th in a field of 12. Her best throw was 47.84m. She finished one place behind a 17-year-old English girl, Tessa Sanderson, who in later years would become an Olympic gold medallist.

McGookin had one daughter, Karen, who was six months old, when she competed in Christchurch. She and her husband, Ron, had a second daughter, Paula, a couple of years later and that was really the end of her competitive career. They ran a farm and thoughts of athletics receded, though in later years she did some club coaching.

She won six New Zealand javelin titles – in 1972, 19-74-75 and 1977-78.

Besides athletics, McGookin was also a talented basketballer, who represented the national champion Otago team at under-18 level. Her grandson, Sam, became a leading New Zealand basketballer.