Valerie Vili wins World Athletics Final smashes NZ record & Weekly Roundup

THESSALONIKI, GREECE - 13 September 2009.
World Athletics Final
Valerie Vili dominated the World Athletics Final in the shot put winning with an outstanding performance of 21.07m, adding 38cm to her Oceania and New Zealand national record at Thessaloniki Greece.
Vili started with 20.30m, exploded with her first ever 21m put reaching out to 21.07m, followed by 20.72m.
It was Vili's 25th consecutive victory. Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus, the last athlete to beat Vili at the 2007 World Athletics Final, was second with 19.56m and her compatriot Natallia Mikhnevich was third with 19.27m. Nadine Kleinert of Germany, second to Vili at the world championships in Berlin, was fourth with 19.05m.
Vili said that 21 metres has been the focus this year.
"21 metres has been a big focus. After the world champs we've made a few technical changes and boom there goes 21 metres. I knew I've always had it in me, it's just a matter of time," said Vili.
"I came here to perform well and it proved to be a great competition for me," she added.
The two competitions after the world championships were a big help in her preparations for the world athletics final.
"I've had two comps and sort of tested out and they've been going so well and I've been training really good, I'm just so dam happy to be finishing off my season with 21 metres."
Vili moved up 12 places on the world all time list, to be now ranked 28th all time. Natalya Lisovskaya of Russia holds the world record and heads the ranking list with 22.63m.

ZAGREB, CROATIA - 12 September 2009
World Masters Mountain Running Championships, 8.3km ascend 740m
New Zealand performances:
F45: Phillipa Jamieson 16th 1h 16m 55s.
Wendy Meffan Nelson 17th 1h 29m 17s
F50: Raewynne Blommerde 21st 1h 12m 30s
M45: Cliff Bowman Waimea 5th 41m 58s
M50: Patrick Meffan Nelson 4th 42m 30s
Paul Forster Wellington 14th 46m 15s
Alan McCauley Kapiti 45th 55m 3s
M55: Herman Van Gessel Nelson 30th 53m 55s
Eric Verstappen Nelson 63rd 1h 11m 17s

SESTO, ITALY - 13 September 2009
Drei Zinnen - Corsa delle tre cime - Three Peaks Alpine Run 17.5km ascend 1350m
Anna Frost won the women's overall in 1h 42m 59s. Jonathan Wyatt was fourth in 1h 31m 38s.

ROTORUA - 12 September 2009
Red Stag Redwoods Forest Relay
In her first race since the world athletic championships in Berlin, Nikki Hamblin set a race record for the 5000m lap through the Redwood Forest in Rotorua on Saturday. Competing for Cambridge in the annual Forest Relays, Hamblin was up against Jessica Ruthe running for Tauranga Ramblers on the first lap in the 5 x 5000m event.
Hamblin headed in Ruthe in 17m 13s, clipping one second off the lap record. Ruthe recorded 17m 22s. The Ramblers team went on to win the women's relay in 1h 36m 16s, over two minutes ahead of Hamilton City Hawks with Cambridge third.
Tauranga Rambers also won the men's relay. The team of Michael Pugh, Kyle Macdonald, Gareth Hyett, Iain Macdonald and Ben Ruthe recorded 1h 19m 18s to beat Lake City Rotorua and Hamilton. Aaron Pulford running for Hamilton received fastest time honours for the lap recording 15m 13s.
Hamilton won both the masters men and women, while Napier was the best in the youth male and Tauranga Girls College in the youth female. Eric Speakman in running a time of 10m 4s, took one second off his 3200m lap record set last year.

DUNEDIN - 13 September 2009
Moro Marathon and Half Marathon
Sarah Chisnall won the annual Dunedin marathon in 2h 51m 20s. John Earles was first in the open men in 2h 48m 10s, with Tom Hunt second in 2h 49m 13s.
Callan Moody won the associated half marathon in 1h 13m 39s, with Glen Ferguson easily the best in the masters recoding 1h 13m 43s. Kellie Palmer won the women's half marathon in 1h 23m 56s.

INVERCARGILL
Fastest 4km laps in the Hedgehope relays came from Ricky Gutsell 13m 44s and Glen Ballam 13m 54s. And in the women Christina Taylor 15m 15s and with 16m 37s Debbie Telfer and Ashleigh Horton. Geer Alsop aged 15 (second in the W19 and W16 national triple jumps in March) had a good pre-season outing in the jumps equalling her PB in the long jump with 5.39m, high jump of 1.50m and triple jump of 10.96m.