Kiwi Contingent Descend on Maurie Plant Meet

A contingent of New Zealand’s top track and field athletes are poised to make a significant impact at the upcoming Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne. Scheduled for March 29, 2025, at Lakeside Stadium, this prestigious event stands as Oceania’s sole World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet, attracting elite talent from around the globe.

The Maurie Plant Meet promises an exhilarating lineup, featuring global superstars and local heroes. Notable international athletes include 2024 Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, who will be competing in the 400m. The event will also showcase Australian high jumper Eleanor Patterson, fresh off her silver medal at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing.

Joining Patterson will be Australia’s teenage sensations: sprinter Gout Gout, dubbed the next Usain Bolt and middle-distance phenomenon Cam Myers.

Australia’s fastest man and woman, Lachlan Kennedy and Torrie Lewis, are also set to electrify the track. Kennedy will return to Australian shores with his 60m silver medal from the World Indoor Championships.

Leading the Kiwis are Sam Tanner and 15-year-old sensation Sam Ruthe, who will join a stellar field in the John Landy Memorial 1500m. Sam Ruthe is fresh off a history-making mile in Auckland, where he became the youngest person in history to break the 4-minute mile. Joining the duo of Sams are: Commonwealth champion, Oli Hoare; Australia’s teenage sensation Cam Myers, who was the former youngest ever to break the 4-minute mile barrier; and Oceanian 800m record holder Peter Bol.

Olympian Tori Moorby (née Peeters) will be throwing in her second competition for 2025. Moorby recently secured her ninth senior javelin throw title at the 2025 Jennian Homes NZ Track and Field Championships.

2024 Paralympic Champion Anna Grimaldi and 2024 Paralympian Mitch Joynt are booked to compete in the women’s and men’s para 100m respectively.

Olympian Connor Bell, a four-time national champion, is pencilled in the men’s discus. Lining up against Bell is 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Denny of Australia and Lawrence Okoye the former NFL defensive tackle from the UK.

Olympian Lauren Bruce and Lexi Maples are both lining up in the women’s hammer throw. Both kiwis went head to head at the Cooks Classic in Whanganui earlier in the year, in which Bruce took the win in the first match-up of the two kiwis in some time.

Laura Nagel is lining up over 1500m after her black singlet debut in Nanjing. The field is full of top-class Australians, including Linden Hall, Abby Caldwell, and Claudia Hollingsworth. Sarah Billings and Sophie O’Sullivan are also lining up. Both women competed in the elite road mile at the 2024 The Spectacle running festival in Nelson.

2025 national high jump champion Imogen Skelton will compete against world indoor silver medallist Eleanor Patterson of Australia. 2025 5000m champion, Oliver Chignell, will be lining up in the men’s 5000m.

With ticket sales on track to sell out, Lakeside Stadium is expected to host a capacity crowd, creating an electric atmosphere for both athletes and spectators.

New Zealand sporting fans can tune in to the Maurie Plant Meet live and for free online via World Athletics’ Inside Track or if you’re in Australia via Channel 7.
The stream will start at 9 PM on Saturday, 29th March, NZT.