Class Act: Mount Aspiring College
Gustav Legnavsky
Hard work coupled with positivity and respect were the undercurrent that fueled Gustav Legnavsky’s achievements.
“Respect can be for people and for the environment,” he said.
These nurtured values became part of her personal strengths in “trying to be a positive person about everything, being social and inclusive”.
At 16, Gustav has already made a notable mark in the ski industry, winning a variety of international titles and being the youngest Olympian at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
His achievements have not been without challenges, however – traveling overseas to compete during tight Covid-19 protocols being one of them.
Another was the time constraints to qualify for the Olympics.
“For my age, I was not allowed to do the full three-year qualifying for the Olympics. I could only do two years, which was quite stressful,” he said.
Among his accomplishments to date, a personal highlight has been the Junior World Championships.
“It was a really cool feeling to come back from the previous not-so-good competition at the Olympics and finish the season well,” Gustav said.
He credits his role models – his mother and other skiers “who are always happy with where they are and never complain about anything” – for inspiring him over the years.
Looking ahead, Gustav says it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where he’ll end up, “but I’ll definitely keep skiing and following the dream, until I find something new.”
The potential idea is to one day go to university and study, but in the meantime he will be moving abroad with his family in the next few years.
Achievements: Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics – being the youngest Olympian at the 2022 Games, 2022 (Leysin / March) Junior World Ski Halfpipe Champion – with a score of 96/100, finishing 8th at the world of the Mammoth Mountain Grand Prix.
Model: Mum and “most skiers who just frolic about life and being there make them happy”; “people who are always happy to be where they are and who never complain about anything”.
Hopes for the future: My family will be moving abroad at the end of this year and living there for the next few years, “so it’s not specified, but I will definitely continue to ski and chase the dream, until I find something new”.
Kimiya Byrne
Personal motivation. Passion. Perseverance. These have been the backbone of triple threat Kimiya Byrne’s accomplishments.
Excelling in the arts, sports and studies, Kimiya has found pleasure in the range of people she meets in each group.
“My mother always said that what you put out into the world is what you get back. It’s part of her cultural and personal values. So I always thought that if you give back to your community, support others and be a positive influence, it will reflect,” she said.
She thinks someone’s success in school “doesn’t reflect how smart you are, but how much work you put in. It depends on what you do…I think being dedicated and not not give up when I get to a point where it’s hard”.
With a busy schedule, a challenge has been balancing pursuing a college education with her extracurricular interests.
“Especially with so many times I’d be doing karate at the same time. I’d have practice for music and find time to train for all the different things, but I think I plan it and don’t procrastinate on things. things, and going on. It’s been my biggest challenge to balance social life, studying, and the other things I love to do,” she said.
Of all his accomplishments, the most rewarding were a reflection of what else was going on at the time, Kimiya says.
“Last year I was really happy to get Level 2 Excellence endorsement, but I think it was also a reflection of being able to achieve that on top of everything I was involved in. , because it became difficult to sort everything out and I was really hoping to get good grades on top of everything else.”
Achievements: Excellence level 2, 80+ hours of service in 2022, kaea of kapa haka 2022, Sixth Trinity College clarinet exam with merit 2020, 3rd kyu (one tab brown belt) Samurai Karate obtained in August 2021, Head of Cultural Committee.
Model: Her mother – “She left her country against what her parents thought she should do, went away and traveled and made a whole new life for herself, which was quite inspiring.”
Hopes for the future: Studying Health Sciences at the University of Otago. Kimiya is interested in the study of oncology because “it always struck me from a very young age, that every person knows someone who has been affected by cancer and it can be quite personal”.
