WARRINGTON has another Olympian to add to its growing roster.
Swimmers Kathleen Dawson and James Guy have already represented the town with distinction at this year’s Games in Paris as well as the previous edition in Tokyo, while Lucy Glover is part of the Team GB rowing squad as a travelling reserve.
Now, we have learned the tale of another Warrington-born talent who was involved in the football tournament.
Defender Isaac Hughes, 20, was born in the town back in March 2004 but relocated with his family to New Zealand when he was 10 years old.
There, he continued to hone the footballing talent that had seen him spend time in the academies of both Bolton Wanderers and Crewe Alexandra while still living in Warrington.
He was picked up by the academy of A-League side Wellington Phoenix in 2019 and went on to captain the club’s reserve side for two seasons before earning a promotion to the first team last year.
Having made his first-team debut last September, the combative centre-back has gone on to make 11 A-League appearances for Wellington, earning him a spot in the New Zealand squad for the Olympics.
The Kiwis finished third in their group behind hosts France and the United States, meaning they did not progress to the knockout phase.
Hughes had previously represented New Zealand at the Under 20s FIFA World Cup last year, helping them out of the group phase before exiting at the last-16 round.
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