Athletics New Zealand – News – Athletics NZ Weekly Roundup 17 August 2015

JAPAN
Juntendo International Track Meet, Tokyo – 15 August 2015
Angie Petty warmed up well one week out from the start of the world championships in Beijing with a record breaking run over 1000m.
On the eve of her 24th birthday Petty won in 2:37.28 to erase Alison Wright’s New Zealand national record of 2:38.54 set in Berlin in August 1979.

The Canterbury runner, who won the world university games 800m last month, has three rounds of the 800m at the world championships, with the final on 29 August.
Tom Walsh who has already won a medal on the world stage, bronze at last year’s world indoor championships, shaped up for further success winning the shot put with his third best distance of 21.30m. His series was x, 21.21, x, 21.30, x, 20.95.

Stuart Farquhar heading into his fifth world championships, warmed up with a javelin throw of 82.40m. His series was 77.82, 78.20, 79.10, 82.37, x, 82.40. The Waikato pair of Michael Cochrane recording 49.79 and Cameron French who clocked 49.92 went head to head in the 400m hurdles finishing second and third. Te Rina Keenan edged out Siositina Hakeai in the discus winning with a throw of 58.72m to Hakeai’s 57.30m. Portia Bing recorded 24.05 (-2.1) for fifth in the 200m and was out to a winning 6.09m (+2.4) in the long jump. Rosa Flanagan was fourth in both the 800m in 2:13.55 and the 1000m in 2:50.62.

TAURANGA
Waikato Bay of Plenty Road Championships, Tauriko Industrial Estate – 16 August 2015
New Zealand triathlon representative Jai Davies-Campbell won the senior 10km title in 32:46 from Tim Stewart 33:10 and David Lee 35:22. Sarah Murphy won the senior women’s 10km in 40:50. Craig Kirkwood won the masters 10km in 33:23 from Michael Pugh 33:51. John Crane was the first 50 plus in 35:29. Judith May won the masters women 5km in 20:23. Michael Voss was a clear winner of the junior 8km in 25:49 from Harry Ewing 26:43. Morgan Ball was first in the junior women 5km in 22:15. The youth women 5km went to Emerson Deverell in 18:14, from Grace Ritchie 18:50. Isaiah Priddey took out the youth men 6km in 20:14 from Connor Tristram 20:59. The B14 3km went to Lochie Montgomerie in 10:14 and the G14 3km to Charli Miller in 10:19.

CHRISTCHURCH
Phoenix Relays, Canterbury Agriculture Park – 15 August 2015
Port Hills won the men 18/19 4 x 3km relay in 43:57 from Christchurch Avon 45:25, while Christchurch Avon won the women 15/16/17 4 x 3km relay in 48:26. Port Hills won the girls 13/14 4 x 3km relay in 48:31. Liliana Braun of Port Hills was the quickest in the women around the 3km in 10:43 with Holly Johnston of Port Hills running 11:07. Jacob Reese-Jones of Christchurch Avon ran 10:08 and Ayrton Shadbolt of Port Hills 10:44. The fastest 1.5km laps went to Ethan Smolej in 5:23 and Leila Dunlop 5:38.

INVERCARGILL
Athletics Southland Road Championships, Queens Park – 15 August 2015
Jack Beaumont (Winton) made it a Southland championship double, adding the road champs title to his cross-country win last month. The 18 year old was happy with his time of 33:29 around a tight Queens Park course in atrocious conditions considering he is in a period of heavy training towards the world mountain running championships in five weeks. He built a decent lead in the first 2.5km lap then eased off over the next three laps to save something for next week’s Clyde to Alexandra 10km. Dwight Grieve was second home, winning the master’s men trophy ahead of Scot Underhay and Kelly McSoriley. Hannah Miller (Gore) was first woman home over 5km, winning the U20 title ahead of sister Briana who took the U18 championship and Debbie Telfer (Inv) who claimed the master’s women trophy and MW50 gold medal. Prue Buckingham (St Pauls) and Tori Mennell (Rivt) rounded out the W18 placings. Sarah Wallis (Winton) won the senior women’s title over 10km. The men’s U18 gold went to Josh Taylor with Buddy Small and Jack McNaughton (all St Pauls) taking the minor medals. The boys U15 2.5km race went to Jaxon Taylor (St Pauls) and the girls to Helena Rikiti (St Pauls). St Pauls with Underhay, McSoriley, Grant Baker and Graham Neilson the scorers narrowly won the men’s teams trophy from Gore 27 points to 30.

AUSTRALIA
World Championships Qualifying Meeting, Brisbane – 9 August 2015
Jacko Gill shot put 19.55m (1).

SWITZERLAND
Sierre-Zinal Mountain Running Race, 31km, 2200m+, 800m – – 9 August 2015
Jono Wyatt was seventh in 2:36:56 and in the women Ruth Croft was eighth in 3:16:06.

FRANCE
World Masters Championships, Lyon – 4/16 August 2015
Elizabeth Wilson won the W50 100m in 13.44 (-2.0), the W50 200m in 27.19 (+1.7) and the W50 400m in 1:01.88. Sally Gibbs won the W50 8km cross country in 29:20. Corinne Smith won the W45 10,000m race walk in 54:23 PB and the 20,000m race walk in 1:53:17. She was also second in the 5000m race walk in 27:16.87. Christine Waring was third in the W70 100m in 16.52 (-3.4) and Marcia Petley was second in the W85 200m in 52.21 and third in the W85 weight throw 6.86m and third in the W85 hammer throw 16.19m.

40th ANNIVERSARY OF SIR JOHN WALKER’S WORLD MILE RECORD
A special breakfast attended by 460 labelled ‘The Power of Dreams Breakfast’ was held in Auckland last Wednesday exactly 40 years to the day that John Walker became the first athlete to run the mile under 3 minutes 50 seconds. Sir Peter Snell and Rod Dixon spoke to the gathering via a satellite link and Lord Sebastian Coe came in on a video. On that day 12 August 1975 in Gothenburg Sweden Walker ran the mile in 3:49.4, breaking Filbert Bayi’s world record of 3:51.0 set just three months earlier in Kingston Jamaica. Australians Ken Hall and Graham Crouch were next in 3:55.2 and 3:56.4.

At the finish, Rod Dixon and journalist Ivan Agnew raced over to him and hugged him, with Agnew thrusting a stop watch so close under Walker’s nose that he could not read it. Walker said that Agnew seemed demented shouting over and over ‘you’re under 3:50, you’re under 3:50. Walker said that he thought for one awful moment that Agnew and Dixon might try and kiss him. Walker’s world record stood for four years until Sebastian Coe ran 3:49.0 in Oslo in July 1979.
Sir Peter Snell said it was an outstanding memorable performance. It was another legacy in the New Zealand mile along with people like Jack Lovelock, Murray Halberg, Rod Dixon, Nick Willis and so on.

Rod Dixon said that when he first saw John run he knew that there was something very special that was going to change the course of running.
Lord Sebastian Coe said that he remembered the race very clearly as he watched it at home in Sheffield and it was very clear that on that night Walker had set the tone and the style for the next generation of middle distance runners. It was a formidable performance. I can remember putting my training kit on the following day and it was with added frequency and fresh determination to try and emulate everything that Walker had done that night which was a massive inspiration to every athlete of my generation, I’m not sure we would have done it in the way that we did if we had not had Walker to chase and been our role model. Thank you for what you have done for our sport, an historic contribution that you will forever be remembered.

John Walker spoke on life, if you don’t have a dream you don’t have life. Everyone should dream something, but you’ve got to make it come true. I had the dream that I wanted to be an Olympic champion and world record holder and I was the one who had to get out and do the work and make it come true. I say to kids follow your dreams. I used to get up at 6am put on my running shoes and got out. I was lazy I really didn’t want to train I rather go back to bed but I knew if I did my opposition would be training somewhere around the world for the day of reckoning at the Olympics or what-ever and that would catch me out. Every day I got out and trained, I didn’t like training so I ran fast, I didn’t do anything half pie, if I meet Dick Quax in the Auckland Domain and we did a 10 mile run we almost broke the New Zealand record it was the competition we had between us. They were special times. When I was ten I had book that I doodled in and I put myself at the top of the dais and that’s where I saw myself. I never saw myself as second best so you get out of life what you put in to it. So if you want to dream it and follow your dreams you’ve just got to make it come true because no one else can do it for you.

Good friend of Walker’s Sir Ralph Norris was the guest speaker and he spoke about the parallels between success in business and success in sport.

ROAD AND TRAIL RACES AROUND THE COUNTRY
Auckland
Rat Race 5km Takapuna, 12 August: Gene Rand 17:14, Mike Judd 17:46.
O’Hagan’s Viaduct 5km, 11 August: Tom Broderick 17:43, Daniel Woods 17:48, Richard Conyngham 18:00.
Cornwall Park Parkrun 5km, 15 August: Hayden Rodger 17:50, Gene Rand 18:39, Chris Robb 18:53.

Masterton
More FM 5000m, Pelorus Trust Track, 12 August: Michael Macklin 17:34.2.

Wellington
Lower Hutt Parkrun 5km, 15 August: Alastair Willis 17:16, Geoff Ferry 17:39, Tim Johnson 17:56, Peter Roberts 17:57, Sarah Gardner 18:17.
Honest 10km, Evans Bay, 16 August: Josh Campbell 37:02, Alex Jones 37:42, John Beale 38:09.

Christchurch
Hagley Parkrun 5km, 15 August: Andre Bonny 17:41, Malcolm Cornelius 17:54, Richard Seigne 17:55.

Dunedin
Botanic Garden Parkrun 5km, 15 August: Stafford Thompson 18:00, Jake Jackson-Grammer 18:29, Will Laery 18:37.

Murray McKinnon
Athletics New Zealand Correspondent
0274 806086
murray@mckinnon.co.nz