Athletics New Zealand - Weekly Roundup

BIRMINGHAM UK
Aviva Indoor Grand Prix
Nick Willis broke John Walker’s 31 year old indoor 1500m record in finishing fifth in 3m 35.80s at the Aviva Indoor Grand Prix meeting in Birmingham on Saturday. Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia won in 3m 33.10s, with Willis just edged out of fourth by arch rival Bernard Lagat of USA who ran 3m 35.49s.
Walker’s record was 3m 37.4s set at Long Beach California in January 1979.
Willis previous best indoors was 3m 38.85s in Boston a year ago.
The Olympic Games 1500m silver medallist from Beijing returns down under for a meeting in Melbourne on 4 March where he will race against the Beijing Olympic gold medallist Asbel Kiprop of Kenya. Willis will then race in Christchurch on 18 March where there is a chance that Kiprop may also be available to compete.

WAITAKERE
Trans Tasman 21 Test Match, New Zealand v. Australia – Douglas Stadium, 20 February
A New Zealand W16 record and seven world junior championships performance standards propelled New Zealand to a rare victory over Australia in athletics.
Kelly O’Hagan bettered Angela Pule’s W16 high jump record of 1.80m after joining Australian Zoe Timmers and Elizabeth Lamb in clearing 1.82m.
Performance A standards for the world junior championships in Canada in July were achieved by O’Hagan and Lamb, Hannah Newbould and Rebekah Greene in the 1500m, Laura Nagel in the 3000m, Tom Walsh in the shot put and Leesa Lealaisalanoa in the discus.
Newbould (18) won the 1500m in 4m 21.73s after a close race with Greene, the only two competitors in the race. Greene (16) recorded 4m 21.98s, just eight tenths of a second outside Sue Bruce’s 1981 national W16 record. Nagel won the 3000m in 9m 27.63s.
Tom Walsh was outstanding for New Zealand in the shot put. Competing with the senior weighted shot of 7.26kg Walsh won with a put of 17.57m, to better the world junior championships A performance standard of 16.50m.
Beatrice Faumuina was again out over 60 metres in the discus with a winning throw of 60.87m which came in the opening round. Her next best was 59.25m. Leesa Lealaisalanoa (16) in second sending the discus out to 50.73m qualified for the world junior championships where the A standard is 48.20m.
Andrea Koenen won the women’s sprint double recording 12.13s (-2.7) over 100m and 24.20s (-2.0) for 200m both into steady head winds. Carl Van der Speck also faced a stiff head wind in winning the 100m in 10.80s (-2.8). Jeffrey Thumath won the 200m in 21.88s (-0.4) and the long jump clearing a wind assisted 7.26m (+2.8).
New Zealand scored 122 points to beat Australia by eight points.

NORTH SHORE
Bays Distance Series – Sovereign Stadium, 17 February
Danielle Trevis was just outside the performance standard of 16m 20s for the world junior championships in Canada in July in the 5000m running 16m 28.44s. Trevis has been selected for the world cross country junior women’s 6km in Poland next month. Michael Whitehead won the 800m in 1m 53.90s, from Nathan Barrett 1m 57.27s and Reid Hunter 1m 59.32s. Anna Bramley won the women’s 800m in 2m 16.61s.

TAURANGA
Luke Davison won the M16 long jump with 5.64m and the javelin throwing 45.81m. Joseph Reynolds won the M16 110m hurdles 16.45s (+1.2), high jump 1.80m, shot put 11.73m and discus 29.33m.

TAUPO
New Zealand 100km Championship – 20 February 2010
Martin Lukes of Sumner won in 7h 30m 35s, from Kerry Suter of Hamilton 7h 45m 9s, Graeme Butcher of Masterton 8h 35m 4s and Paul Hewitson of Wellington 8h 43m 36s. Dawn Tuffery of Hamilton won the New Zealand women’s title in 9h 5m 47s from Valerie Muskett of Dunedin 9h 24m 24s and third in the championship Vivian Cheng of Wellington 11h 25m 12s. Amy Campbell of Paihia was third in the race in 10h 3m 4s.

WELLINGTON
Round the Bays 7km Fun Run: Glenn Hughes won in 20m 45s from Daniel Nixon 20m 50s and Hayden Sherman 20m 53s. Tina Harris was first woman home in 23m 5s. In the associated half marathon Grant McLean won in 1h 12m 5s from Todd Stevens 1h 12m 39s and Dave Parsons 1h 13m 19s. Sarah Christie won the women’s half in 1h 23m 57s from Nadene Hawley 1h 24m 0s and Erin Whitla 1h 26m 3s.
In the Brooks Waterfront 5km series on 16 February Brian Garmonsway won in 16m 40s. Nyla Carroll was the first woman in 17m 26s.

NELSON
Harry Dixon won the mile on Friday evening in 4m 16.7s from Matt Lambert 4m 16.9s. Hazel Bowering-Scott won the 100m in 12.4s and the 200m in 25.8s, both hand time, but legal wind.

CHRISTCHURCH – QEII Stadium 20 January
Tony McManus set a world M60 mile record of 4m 53.29s at the interclub meeting at QEII on Saturday. McManus broke the record of 4m 54.07s set by Joop Ruter of the Netherlands in 1993.
Mark Bailey 3000m in 8m 28.69s beating Alex Fowler 9m 12.59s. Fiona Crombie ran 9m 23.57s. Kate Newitt 3000m track walk in 14m 1.40s. Sarah McSweeney 3000m steeplechase 10m 58.23s. Richard Olsen 800m in 1m 52.53s from Tim Jones 1m 52.73s. Kathryn Stuart (15) 100m in 12.83s (+1.5) and 200m in 25.93s (+0.2). Alicia Evans 800m in 2m 15.51s. Scott Walker (17) 100m in 11.15s (+0.4) and second in 200m in 23.01s (-0.4), won by Todd Mansfield in 22.21s. Hannah Keenan W16 triple jump in 10.04m (-0.4). Tim McKee M19 pole vault 4.50m. Jesse Bryant (14) high jump 1.75m. Hayden Hall M16 shot put 13.20m and discus 49.45m.
International Meeting
Top middle distance rivals Ben St Lawrence of Australia, and Jason Woolhouse of New Zealand, who is currently based in Melbourne, have announced that they will both be chasing Commonwealth Games qualification in the 5000m event at the International Track Meet on 18 March at QEII Stadium in Christchurch.
St Lawrence has the Australian A qualifying standard of 13m 29s in his sights, while Woolhouse will have to break 13m 30s to achieve the NZ standard. With personal bests of 13m 25.88s (in Walnut California April 2009) and 13m 35.71s (in Walnut California in April 2008) respectively, both are in with an excellent chance and expect to push each other the whole way.
“Championship races are all about winning, and tend to be slower & more tactical, so this type of meet is really the place where athletes chase qualifying times”, said meet director Craig Motley.
Woolhouse was one of the stars of the International Track Meet in 2009, when he became the first Cantabrian to break the magical 4 minute mile barrier on his home track at QEII. In stepping up to his specialist 5000m distance this year he hopes to continue on and create a legacy of success at the meet for many years to come. Woolhouse said to the meet organisers this week “It was great that my first sub-4 was in my home town last year, now I’m looking forward to putting up a good 5000m performance”. The two have clashed already this season, in the prestigious Zatopek 10,000m in Melbourne in December, when St Lawrence finished second behind Australian champion Collis Birmingham, with Woolhouse finishing seventh.
Also in the field will be some of New Zealand’s top distance athletes preparing for other international competitions. Nelson’s Kim Hogarth, with a personal best of 13m 44.26s (in Walnut California in April 2007), and Christchurch’s Andrew Davidson, the current New Zealand cross country champion, will use the longest track event at the meet as a final tune-up before flying to Poland for the World Cross Country Championships at the end of the month. Another with international aspirations will be the outstanding junior athlete, Aaron Pulford of Hamilton, who will again dip his toe in the senior ranks after his stunning success in the NZ 10,000m championships last month, where he missed his first senior title by just inches behind multiple NZ champion and representative Rees Buck. Pulford needs to break 14m 15s to qualify for the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Canada in July.
Current world discus champion Dani Samuels of Australia will compete against 1997 world champion Beatrice Faumuina at the meeting in Christchurch. Faumuina is unable to travel to Australia for the Grand Prix meetings there, so this will be sports fans’ only chance to see these the number one and two in the Commonwealth compete against each other ahead of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.
Samuels has competed just once so far this year, but already leads the world rankings with a throw of 63.70m in Brisbane in her first outing two weeks ago, and in another month could be a real threat to the New Zealand Allcomers record of 68.72m, set by her compatriot Daniela Costian in 1994, which is also the Australian National record. Breaking the NZ Allcomers record at this meet will net Samuels a $1000 prize bonus – well worth chasing her rival across the Tasman for.
Samuels is the youngest world discus champion ever, a distinction held for 12 years by Faumuina until the Australian succeeded her in Berlin last year. The pair first clashed at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, when the then-17-year-old Australian snatched the bronze medal from the grasp of the defending champion Faumuina with her last throw of the competition and ending Faumuina’s medal run of silver-gold-gold at the previous three Commonwealth Games’. Faumuina will be keen to avenge that defeat on the sub-continent in October, and next month in Christchurch will be the appetiser for that battle between the rising Aussie star and the veteran Kiwi campaigner.
Meet Director Craig Motley said “Both of these athletes are used to performing solo without any real competition, it is a real coup for the event to bring the two of them together to go head to head. A former world champion against the current world champion – what more could the event ask for?”
For further meet information go to www.internationaltrackmeet.co.nz

DUNEDIN
Otago Track and Field Championships
William Hubber M19 hammer 50.32m, discus 41.89m, shot put 13.66m. Hannah Blair javelin throw 46.85m, Guy Archibald M19 javelin 51.36m. Barbara Roy 800m 2m 14.16s from Katrina Finn 2m 14.68s. Roy also won 1500m in 4m 35.40s from Finn 4m 42.30s. Lauren Wilson W19 100m 12.84s (-0.8) and SW 200m 25.10s (-1.0). Daniel O’Shea 400m in 48.78s. Andrew Moore (Nelson) 100m 10.87s (+0.3), Toby Flett M19 second in 11.22s also won the M19 200m in 22.71s (+0.2). Moore also won the 200m 22.11s (+1.1) the long jump 6.81m (-0.0) and the high jump 1.90m. Blair Grant M16 100m 11.66s (-0.1). Anna Smythe 100m in 12.01s (-0.1). Callan Moody 1500m in 3m 57.16s and 800m in 1m 57.23s. Roseanne Robinson 3000m walk in 14m 18.72s. Robert Jopp (14) 400m in 55.47s. Tyler Helm M16 triple jump 11.89m (+0.3).

BULLER
Buller Half Marathon and Marathon – 13 February
Matt Ingram won the half marathon in 1h 12m 26s. Vajin Armstrong was second in 1h 14m 28s, ten seconds ahead of Kerry Faass. Shireen Crumpton was the first woman in 1h 21m 40s, with Alexandra Williams second in 1h 24m 33s and Lisa Mcgoldrick third in 1h 31m 22s. Marathon winners were both from Nelson, Simon Mardon in 2h 35m 42s and Paula Canning in 3h 1m 55s.

USA
New York
John Henwood won the New York Road Runners Haiti Charity run through Central Park. Henwood covered the 4 miles (6.4km) in 20m 39s.
Indoors
Running for Stony Brook Holly Van Dalen won the 3000m at the America East Track & Field Championships in a time of 9m 32.66s while Tim Hodge finished fourth in the men’s 3000m with a time of 8m 22.80s. On day one of the Arkansas Invitational Ayla Gill won the weight throw with a distance of 18.37m. At the America East Indoor Championships Michael Christmas was fourth in the 800m in 1m 54.06s.
And at the big East conference day 1 VILLANOVA had three New Zealanders in its team that won the distance medley relay in a time of 9m 47.60s; Hugo Beamish, Carl Mackenzie and Mathew Mildenhall.
Laura Sinclair ran her first 3000m in over a year at the Virginia Tech Challenge meeting at Blacksburg, Virginia, finishing 4th and recording a time of 9m 51.78s to qualify for the ECAC Champs. Her previous PB was 10m 36s.
Purdue competed at the Boilermaker Invitational where Simon Rogers finished 2nd in the 1 mile with a time of 4m 15.29s.
North Texas track and field team were at the Sooner Open where Patrick Strong ran the one mile run in 4m 26.44s.

TEAM APPOINTMENTS MADE
Neil Webb has been appointed manager of the Oceania U18 team to the Oceania U18 Area Championships to be held in Sydney 11-14 March 2010.
The team coaches appointed for the team are: Beverley Peterson (sprints), Robert Mallinder (middle distance) and John Quinn (throws).