Win an Olympic or Commonwealth Games medal and you might expect a well done message from the prime minster – but not necessarily if you’ve finished first and second in your year-three primary school cross country.
So it was a surprise for best friends Eva Gray and Fern Cash when they received a video shout-out from Jacinda Ardern to congratulate them on their one-two finish in the Waiheke Primary School cross-country. The leader sent the pair a message after dad Mike Gray found himself a few rows behind her on a flight to Wellington – he was so proud of their success and a little guilty he hadn’t been there for the race that he took his chance.
Scribbling a note on an airplane sick bag, he praised the leader for doing such a great job as a mum and prime minister and wrote that she was “brilliant with the human touches, which resonates with everyone”.
He then asked if she would record a video for the cross-country champions after the flight. Passing the note to security, it wasn’t long before the PM asked the security guard to point him out. All it took was a thumbs-up for him to know the plan was all on. • Liza Hamilton
View Jacinda Ardern’s shout-out message below:
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