Kate walks to world champs | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Walker Kate Newitt is Canterbury's only representative in the New Zealand team for the world youth track and field championships in the Czech Republic in July.

The 17-year-old Linwood College seventh former earned the trip when she took 2sec off the national 18 years women's 5km walk record with a personal best 24min 41sec this summer.

In a season of spectacular achievement, Newitt won the 2km track walk at the national secondary school championships in Christchurch, the national under-16 5km road walk in Christchurch, and the under-19 10km road walk and 16 years 3km track walk at the national track and field championships in Inglewood.

Her time in the latter was the best of any women for that distance at the nationals.

She holds 12 Canterbury records in 16 to 19 years women's competition.

Involved in athletics since she was 10, the Port Hills club member started to get interested in the walking races while she watched her sister Tara, an 800 and 1500m runner, on Saturday afternoons.

She's concentrated on walking since she was 12.

Her PB for the 5km would have put her about 10th at last year's youth worlds, but she has plenty of time to improve before she heads to Ostrava.

She trains six days a week for up to two-and-a-half hours, including a hill session.

Before they go to Ostrava the New Zealand team has a training camp on the Gold Coast.

It will be Newitt's fourth trip for overseas competition. In 2005 and this year she competed at the Sydney youth games for placings of sixth and fifth, and in 2006 finished fourth at the Pacific school games in Melbourne.