A Wānaka teenager who has been deemed ‘the fastest girl in Australasia’ has been lauded for breaking 22 Otago records during the 2024/2025 summer athletics season.

The achievement of Aspiring Athletics Club (AAC) member and Te Kura o Tititea Mount Aspiring College (MAC) student Phoebe Laker (16) was announced at the Athletics Otago awards night last Friday (May 2).

Phoebe now holds all seven female Otago records for the 400m from ages 13 to 19.

Further, she also holds the Otago records for women aged 16, 17 and 18 (for which the previous record was set 36 years ago) in the 200m – her secondary event.

AAC head coach Michael Beable said, in more than 50 years in athletics, he had “not come across anything like this before”.

Last month Phoebe won a gold medal at the Australian National Athletics Championships in Perth.

“We can rightly say that she is now the fastest 400m [runner] of girls aged 16 and under in Australasia,” Michael said at the time.

“Phoebe is now unbeaten in all her 400m races, across New Zealand and Australia, for the last 27 months, and by very significant margins this season.”

Read more: Gold medal for Phoebe Laker

PHOTO: Supplied