Kiwi Olympian grabs study by the handlebars at Wintec

Meet New Zealand Olympian, BMX athlete, and Wintec student Leila Walker.

Leila, 19, represented New Zealand at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, competing in the individual women’s BMX racing event.

Leila Walker competing in BMX at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Photo sourced from Leila Walker's Instagram)

The BMX star, ranked seventh in the world, is currently in her first year of studies with Wintec, working toward a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science.

Balancing learning, training, and competing can be tricky for high performance athletes, but being able to study part-time has really helped Leila manage her commitments.

With intense preparation leading up to major events like the BMX Racing World Championships and the Olympics, she often trains up to six days a week.

“The load is definitely high with training,” Leila said.

“Studying part-time has been the perfect balance of not being too much and still keeping my mind busy and my life ticking over outside of my athlete world.

“I found Wintec super accommodating…I’ve spent a long time overseas this year, but I’ve found my lecturers, tutors, and the sport department really accommodating. The communication is really great with shifting assessments and providing help if I ever need it.”

Leila Walker outside Wintec's Rotokauri Campus

Leila always had a strong passion for sport, which steered her choice to study sport and exercise science, however, her choice to train with Wintec was guided by the feedback of staff and students.

“It was always going to be sport and exercise science. I’m just a huge lover of sport.

“Feedback I’ve heard from staff and students is that Wintec is a lot more practical and performance-based [compared to other tertiary education providers], which is really cool. Coming from a high performance and sport background, this struck my interest.

“Previous students also said Wintec was really accommodating with travel and athletes,” Leila said.

Outside of the curriculum, Leila also enjoys the social aspect of her studies, meeting new people in her classes who share her passion for sport.

“I really enjoy the social aspect of Wintec, being around a different group of people. I feel with my training, I’m often around the same people all the time. It’s really cool to be in a new environment and see new faces,” Leila said.

In the classroom, Leila enjoys the practical nature of her learning.

“My studies are highly relatable to my career. Stuff we learn in class, I pick up on within my training, it’s practical,” Leila said.

Although she is at the start of what is gearing up to be a bright sporting career, Leila has already decided she wants to work with high performance athletes once her career in BMX is over.

After what has been a “huge overseas stint”, Leila plans to spend her summer in New Zealand, where she can rest and reflect on her achievements throughout the year.

Leila is planning to compete in the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Study Sport with Wintec

A career in sport and exercise science is ideal for people passionate about sport, health, fitness, wellbeing, or human performance. Whether students are driven to help others reach their goals, prepare for competition and achieve excellence, or are elite athletes wanting the knowledge to reach their potential in competitive sport, Wintec provides students with a qualification recognised and respected worldwide. To learn more, head to wintec.ac.nz/study-at-wintec/courses/sport-science-and-human-performance