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NZL Hammer thrower Nicole BRADLEY was quite happy on the 8th of august when she got for the 1st time over the symbolic 60m barrier. And she was right to be so because , even if the performance is still modest after the top international standards ( where you have to throw 70m to get a chance to qualify at the world champs) , she will have her name for the 1st time in the world rankings between the top 170 or 180 in the world. So far she has only been the National NZL champion since 3 years , taking advantage that the best NZ thrower , Julia RATCLIFFE , is studying in the USA . But anyways , nobody in the country cares about Nicole and the local federation, ANZ , superbly ignores her existence and has never really invested to help her try to access to the elite level. Like most of similar level NZ athletes , she has to pay for her training , her coaching , her travels , her implements , and for every competition she wants to get in , including the national champs . Even if she makes it to the NZL team , she would still have to pay big money to represent her country at Oceania , or world students etc,,, The only help she ever had was when she was given a pair of throwing shoes by the French World junior champion Alexandra TAVERNIER when Alexandra came 2 months to train in Auckland in 2014. At the Millenium national training centre , she is not even allowed to train at and use some of the facilities which are strictly reserved to the so called "carded" athletes , a little bunch of privileged athletes selected using irrealistic standards by the local powerful and "wealthy" sport bureaucracy . So Nicole knows that she has only to rely on herself and invest more money and more time and efforts to make some more progresses. She is not afraid of that , she has already been through so many difficulties when working extra hours to pay for her study etc...etc... All that we can wish her is to be courageous enough to keep going and may be one day make it to the very top and see with a revenge smile on the face all those who have ignored her , suddenly wanting to become her best friends and offering their support !!!! Sport is indeed the best school for life is't it ! DP