Barrett qualifies for world champs
Craig Barrett qualified for the world championships in Helsinki in August, in the 50km walk, after finishing second in the Australian championship in Melbourne yesterday.
Barrett recorded 3h 58m 38s, just under the A standard set for selection of 4 hours.
Nathan Deakes of Victoria won the race, which doubled as a trial for the world champs, in 3h 47m 50s.
Barrett will be representing New Zealand for the seventh time at the world championships. His best placing was eighth at Seville in 1999.
He plans to prepare for the championships from his Hamilton base and will continue his build-up competing in the Huntly half marathon on May 22 and in June the Taranaki open and the Lake Burley Griffin Classic in Canberra.
"I am pleased with the successful result in Melbourne and it allows for room to improve as I have a busy racing schedule through to August," said Barrett.
Nick Willis runs a sub four minute mile in relay.
Wellington athlete Nick Willis, competing for his American University team, Michigan, clocked 3m 56.2s for his leg in the 4 x 1 mile relay at the University of Pennsylvania relay meeting on Saturday.
The team set a NCAA and Penn Relay record of 16m 4.54s in convincingly beating Arkansas by 15 seconds.
The New Zealand team of Kevin Ross, Tony Polhill, Richard Tayler and Dick Quax was the last team to hold the world record, with 16m 2.8s in 1972, before the event ceased to be an official IAAF world record event.
A New Zealand team of Tony Rogers, John Bowden, Michael Gilchrist and John Walker ran 15m 59.57s in 1983 and Ireland with Eamonn Coghlan, Marcus O'Sullivan, Frank O'Mara and Ray Flynn has subsequently run 15m 49.08s in Dublin in 1985.
On Friday Willis ran in the distance medley relay running 3m 55.1s for 1600m and three hours after the mile relay competed in the 4 x 800m relay recording 1m 48.6s for his leg.
Also at the Penn Relay meeting Canterbury athlete Fiona Crombie, competing for Providence, was third in the 3000m steeplechase in 10m 35.63s.
