News & Updates

Josh Hawkins unashamedly shed tears of joy as he trimmed 0.02 from his eight-year-old New Zealand 110m hurdles record with a 13.67 (+0.2) clocking at the Australian Championships in Brisbane on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Auckland athlete snared the silver medal –  0.02 behind race winner Mitchell Lightfoot – at the same Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre where he posted his former mark back in 2015.

Hawkins was an outstanding age-group athlete and won a silver medal at the 2011 World U18 Championships in Lille, France before later representing New Zealand twice at the World University Games.

Last month he claimed his eighth senior men’s national 110m hurdles title with a New Zealand resident record mark of 13.94 before coming within just 0.03 of his national record at the Sydney Track Classic with a blistering 13.72.

Coached by Joe Hunter, Hawkins ran a handy 13.90 (0.0) to win his heat at the Australian Championships on Sunday (2 April) before blitzing to his New Zealand record performance in the final.

“I’m so stoked. I prepared really well for this and it is nice to see the hard work I’ve put in throughout the season come to fruition,” said Hawkins.

“I was talking to my coach (Joe Hunter) before the race and, of course, you try to win the race but I was really trying to gun for that race record.

“To run in the same stadium in Brisbane where I set the record eight years ago – I’m just so stoked. When I learned I’d set the New Zealand record I started crying and a couple of the athletes asked ‘what’s wrong?’ But I answered, ‘I’m crying because I’m so happy’.”

Hawkins believes several factors have contributed to his excellent form in 2023 and praises the role his coach and his training partners have played in his success. Back in 2019 he also converted from an eight-step to a seven-step approach to the first hurdle and the Senior Environment Monitoring Officer at Auckland Council insists this has also played a key role in propelling him to the 13.67 clocking.

Australian Championships results here