Accor's javelin star makes Olympic team

Hamilton's record-breaking javelin thrower Stuart Farqhuar has officially been selected for the New Zealand Olympic team and will be heading to Beijing in August to represent his country.

Stuart has worked as a porter at Novotel Tainui Hamilton for the past four years and over this time the hotel has sponsored helped him pursue his dream with sponsorship funds, the purchase of a javelin, accommodation when he is away competing and time away from the work place as and when he needs it.

Novotel Tainui Hamilton is part of the Accor group of hotels and resorts. Accor is a key sponsor of the New Zealand Olympic Committee for the fourth time in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics in August.

Stuart is of course thrilled to see all his hard work and dedication pay off to make this dream a reality. He shares his thoughts on his passion:

What drives you to succeed?
The "what if?" - wondering how good I could possibly be.

How much personal sacrifice is required to become a champion?
Plenty of sacrifice, lots of travelling away from family makes it hard.

What are your guiding values?
Commitment, dedication and hard work.

How do you overcome disappointment?
By thinking that you need a low performance to create a high performance.

Who do you see as your greatest competition?
Anyone who competes in the Olympics at all is competition, anyone can win on the day.

Obviously a Gold Medal is every competitor's goal, but have you set any other goals or personal bests for yourself?
Yes, firstly to make the final and produce a personal best.

How often do you train?
6 days a week, up to 10 sessions a week.

How long have you been involved with your sport?
11 years.

Will this be your first Olympics?
No, this will be my second Olympics. I also competed in Athens, Greece in 2004. It was an amazing experience being at the home of the Ancient Olympics.

Stuart was also the winner of the NZASNI Outstanding Achievement Award at the WINTEC sports awards last year. As well as becoming a married man in January, he completed six papers towards his Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science, as well as winning his seventh straight New Zealand Javelin title and competing at the World Championships in Osaka.

Accor, the European leader and a major global group in hotels, the global leader in services to corporate clients and public institutions, operates in nearly 100 countries with 170,000 employees. It offers to its clients over 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:
- Hotels, with the Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands, representing more than 4,000 hotels and nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre.
- Services, with 30 million people in 40 countries benefiting from Accor Services products in human resources, marketing services and expense management.