Noah destroys ‘unbreakable’ Piopio College record

PIOPIO College’s 100m boys intermediate sprint record had stood since 1988. It was called “unbeatable”.

But student Noah Brownlie broke it anyway: by two milliseconds, running 12:08, the record was 12:10.  

Then he went off to milk cows.  

The win was at least a year in the making – Noah tried unsuccessfully to beat it once already, in 2022.  

“I got close to the record last year. And then in the heat this year, I was a few milliseconds off.  

“I was confident heading into the final. I did the final, and got 2 milliseconds under the record.

“It sat for so long – not many people thought it would ever be broken. Because when they ran it, the track was going downhill slightly, and the new track goes very slightly uphill.  People had said “it’s going to be heaps harder to beat.”

The record had been a hot topic at the school.  

“It was really cool to beat it. I went home happy.”

Preparing for the race mentally, Noah aimed to be relaxed, but serious about his running.  

“It was just going in and seeing what happens. I was always going to run the hardest that I could.”

It helped that soccer is his main sport – and running is a by-product of that.

“Now my name’s in Piopio College history for a while – until someone faster than me breaks it.”

The family has a connection with the previous record holder.  

“My mum’s friend went to school with the guy who got the record. I don’t know much about him, but it was cool to know it links back to my family a little bit.”

Noah no longer attends Piopio, because his family has moved to Te Pahu, near Pirongia. He has recently enrolled at Ōtorohanga College.

Next up for Noah is his new school athletics event, to take place at the start of next term.

“I don’t know what the record’s going to be like there – but I’m going to find out.

“It will be cool to go and hopefully still be in shape a little bit.”

Noah’s big regret from the Piopio College athletics event was mucking around in the 200m. The prankster got distracted by his mates – meaning he missed out on a second potential record-breaking achievement.  

“My friends told me to start running backwards – so I did. I think I was still 5 milliseconds off breaking it, even with running backwards. So that was a bit of a heartbreak.  

“It was just a straight final; you don’t have heats or anything. I didn’t think I’d be as close as I was.”

He won’t be doing that again at Ōtorohanga.

Noah said he wasn’t considering professional soccer, although highly paid; his dream is to be a builder.  

“Soccer is hopefully a thing I just carry on doing through my life, however long it goes for.”

The two complement each other because builders often get weekends off, unlike dairy farming, his parents’ profession.  

Mum Liz Brownlie said Noah’s running talent ran in the family – his Nana Lorraine Roper, who is now in her 80s, had been a skilled runner in her schooldays.  

“She thinks it’s very cool that Noah has followed in her footsteps.”

The whole family dedicated a lot of time and energy to Noah’s sport.

His soccer practices mean the family travels at least three hours each week.

“It’s fantastic that he takes it so seriously and is so committed to it,” Liz said.

“I think it’s showing – he’s starting to get invited to join more sports teams.”

She said Noah had told her about his goal before the race– it was the one thing he’d really wanted to achieve before changing schools.  

“It’s very Brownlie – going after what you want.”

One of Noah’s teachers at the college, Sandeep Kishore, had also noted Noah’s positive attitude.

“Noah has always had that driving force and commitment in him to improve and upskill in all sports he takes part in.

“As a soccer player, he gives so much on the field in terms of effort and work rate every time he plays, and I believe any player or athlete needs to have that desire and intelligence about them to reach the top.

“It is quite evident that Noah’s willingness and determination to give his best in anything he does will lead him to reach his full potential and succeed,” Sandeep said.

The previous record holder for the intermediate boys 100m is former Piopio student Robert Goldsbury.

Now working in Christchurch as a concrete truck driver, he was interested to find out that his record had finally been broken.

He found out about it when his niece forwarded him a Facebook post about Noah.

Back in 1988, he remembered hearing over the loudspeaker that he had broken the record but did not recall how long it had stood for. He recalled the excitement of being a young sportsman – one of two at the time who vied for the top spot in athletics at Piopio.  

“We were all young and free – no body aches, unlike now.

“When they announced it over the loudspeaker, I was happy and thrilled as young people are.”

He had been very happy to hear about Noah’s record.

“The record was standing for quite a while, so the young fulla’s done very well. Congratulations to him,” Robert said.