Scholarship for top Kiwi mountain biker

New Zealand's top female mountain Rosara Joseph is one of three New Zealanders to be awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to the UK's Oxford University.

The reigning New Zealand cross-country MTB champion, Joseph studied law at Canterbury University, but now lives and works in Wellington. She will take her place at Oxford in October 2006 to spend nine months studying for a BSL, the equivalent of a masters degree in law. In the meantime, she is expected to represent New Zealand at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia and at the 2006 world championships, which will be held in New Zealand for the first time..

"I found out last week that I was selected for [a Rhodes Scholarship] and I am absolutely over the moon," Joseph said. "I still plan to race while I am in Europe, but at the moment my focus is on the upcoming season which promises to be one of the toughest and exciting New Zealand has had for a while."

Rhodes Scholarships are awarded for a combination of academic excellence, physical prowess and strength of character. Well-known former Rhodes Scholars include former US president Bill Clinton, astronomer Edwin Hubble, and philosopher EF Schumacher.