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A number of milestones will be set at the New Zealand track and field championships to be held at QEII Stadium, Christchurch this Friday and Saturday as athletes strive for titles and last minute bids for Commonwealth Games selection.
Jane Arnott will be seeking her tenth straight victory in the 400m and a time of 52.20s for Games selection.
Beatrice Faumuina will be going for her 13th discus throw title while Valerie Vili will be wanting to record her sixth shot put title with a performance that will give her a substantial head start in the 2006 world rankings.
The men's 400m will be a close race between Tim Hawkes and Cory Innes as Hawkes aims for his fifth straight title.
The 100m final will be one of the highlights on Friday at 3.50pm with James Dolphin up against some stiff competition from Chris Donaldson, Donald MacDonald, David Falealili, Carl Van der Speck and James Mortimer in the defence of his title. Dallas Roberts will be going for three in a row in the 200m but will face strong challenges from Dolphin, Donaldson, MacDonald and Matt Brown.
Jason Stewart national champion in 2002 will clash with the champion for the last two years Gareth Hyett, for the first time this season, in the 800m final on Friday.
The three leading 1500m runners who have qualified for Melbourne, Nick Willis, Adrian Blincoe and Paul Hamblyn, will provide the highlight on Saturday, the final timed to start at 3.30pm. Hamblyn has won the title for the last three years.
Kimberley Smith, world university 5000m champion and record holder, will have her first race in the country this season in the 5000m final at 4.10pm on Friday. Just before taking up an American athletic scholarship Smith won the 2002 1500m and 5000m titles.
Athens Olympic Games triathlon gold medallist Hamish Carter has entered the 5000m and will race against Rees Buck and Ben Ruthe at 5.45pm on Friday.
The women's 3000m steeplechase at 11am on Saturday will feature world mountain running champion Kate McIlroy, Fiona Crombie and Rebecca Forlong who have all qualified for Melbourne. Jessica Ruthe has entered the steeplechase as well as the 5000m.
Angela McKee, who cleared 1.89m last weekend, should make it title number five in the high jump and her fourth title in a row.
Melina Hamilton should clear her 11th title in the pole vault.
A win in the long jump will give Chantal Brunner her ninth title and victory in the 100m will be the sixth occasion.
The women's 200m should produce a close finish between Brunner, Arnott and defending champion Anna Smythe.
Rebecca Wardell will be defending her title and aiming for a total of 5700 in the heptathlon to book a place in the Commonwealth Games team. An absorbing two days of competition is in store in the decathlon with Peter Cox, Brent Newdick, Jordan Vandermade and Scott McLaren all seeking a spot in Melbourne. The standard is 7500 points. McLaren is the 2003 champion, Cox won in 2004 and Newdick is the defending champion.
Others aiming for last minute performances to gain Games selection are James Mortimer going for four years in a row in the 110m hurdles, Andrea Miller in the 100m hurdles, Stuart Farquhar aiming for his sixth title in the javelin, Patrick Hellier and Philip Jensen, going for his 12th title, both in the hammer and Nic O'Brien in the 400m hurdles.
source Athletics New Zealand |
