News & Updates

On a miserably wet summer night in Auckland, Julian Oakley defied the conditions to edge training partner Sam Tanner in a compelling 5000m duel, setting a stunning race record and PB of 13:29.74 to win the Blincoe Cup at the Daikin Night of 5s.

The Tauranga-based pair served up a captivating head-to-head showdown to provide a rousing climax to the action at a soggy AUT Millennium with Oakley’s superior strength ultimately proving the difference. Tanner, the Commonwealth Games 1500m sixth-place getter, finished exactly three seconds adrift setting a new personal best by a massive 45 seconds.

New Zealand mountain running champion Cameron Avery (Christchurch Avon) finished third in 14:07.55 as eight of the first nine finishers bagged a PB.

With Eric Speakman, the previous owner of the race record with his 2020 clocking of 13:31.84, taking the pace for the first 3km the battle for the Blincoe Cup quickly took on a clear pattern as Tanner and Oakley latched themselves on the back of the rabbit with an immediate gap developing to Avery with a further gap back to the chasing pack.

After 3km covered in around 8 minutes, Speakman stepped aside and for the remaining 2000m we were treated to an absorbing battle. Oakley and Tanner took turns at the front each lap to maintain the red-hot pace and at the bell it was Oakley, the national mile, 3000m and 10,000m champion at the front with Tanner in close pursuit.

However, gradually over the final lap it was the 29-year-old Oakley who cranked up the pace to develop clear daylight on the 3:31 1500m athlete and race away to a memorable victory to set a PB of more than five seconds.

“I thought I was in shape to run something pretty good,” adds Oakley. “Eric (Speakman) did a good job pulling us through and we (he and Tanner) switched our turn at the front. When you have a guy like Sam right behind you on the last lap, you have to be strong and I’m happy to hold him off.

“I’m just glad it wasn’t the 1500m because I would have had no chance (on the last lap).

“I knew I was capable of a sub 13:30 I would like to go low 13:20, but it was how the race played out and I closed well.”

Tanner and Oakley have in recent weeks become training partners with Oakley saying: “It has been great to train together, I had been doing so much on my own it had been a grind. It has been quite humbling.”

Tanner added: “I had a great battle with Julian, and now he is my training partner it is going to be exciting. I just ran out of legs over that last 200m. My body is not quite used to that distance, but I felt pretty good most of the way, so I felt quite happy.”

In fourth spot national U18 3000m champion Christian De Vaal with 14:12.71 PB led a train of athletes to a personal best time.

Despite a limited preparation time over the past five months while carrying out Navy training, Anneke Grogan (North Harbour Bays) produced one of the most significant wins of her career to steal a march on the opposition in the final kilometre and win the women’s elite 5000m in 16:26.65.

The national 3000m steeplechase champion finished 1.99 clear of three-time national 800m gold medallist Katherine Camp (University of Canterbury) who edged a tight battle by two tenths of a second from third placed Emily Roughan (16:28.84). Tokyo Olympian Camille Buscomb in her first track race since giving birth to her baby girl, Sienna, in June was “rapt” to place fourth in 16:34.08.

With the winner of the previous edition of this race run in March, Laura Nagel taking on the pacing duties, the national 1500m, mile, 3000m and 5000m champion did a sterling job taking a large group of seven women through the first 4km before stepping off the track.

At that point, Grogan, who finished runner up in this race in March behind Nagel, found herself at the front but not trusting her finishing speed turned up the heat and opened up what would prove an unassailable gap on the field.

“I was surprised,” adds Grogan who is training to be a navy psychologist. “For the first three months of my Navy training I didn’t have the ability to train at all and although I’ve had a lot more freedom over the past couple pf months, I’ve definitely not done a huge amount of training. My biggest mileage week was a 60km and the next week might then be zero kilometres.

“A couple of weeks ago I ran an unofficial 3km in 9:36 so I was hoping for a good run today.  It is awesome to win, it is such a fun event,” adds Grogan, who is part of the Bays Babes training group and is coached by Paul Hamblyn.

PB’s were attained for the athletes placed fifth and sixth; Katrina Andrew (Whippets Auckland) 16:43.29 and Tillie Hollyer 16:51.36 (Whippets Canterbury).

Racing in her first race in New Zealand for six-and-a-half years, Alison Andrews-Paul of Athletics Wairarapa showed her ability to dominate the women’s 800m A race and win in 2:05.51. World U20 Championship semi-finalist Macey Hilton returning to her home city after her first semester at Southern Methodist University in Texas ran a good race for second in 2:08.19 with Krystal Clark (North Harbour Bays) placing third in 2:10.94.

Holly Manning, the senior women’s national 800m champion, was on pacing duties today and the Napier Harriers athlete took the field through 600m in 1:31 before stepping aside. That left Andrews-Paul in control at the front, and she kicked on home for a comprehensive win just one day before her 25^th birthday.

Based in Canada, Andrews-Paul, who lowered her PB by five seconds last year to run a red hot 2:01.43, said: “It is so good to be back racing in New Zealand, really awesome. Holly paced well but I finished the race feeling there is more there, which is what you want from a season opener, to feel hungry.

“I’m happy for where this puts me today and it is special to share it with my family and my partner, who has travelled over from Canada.”

Dominic Devlin (Auckland City Athletics) let out a roar of satisfaction after crossing the line to take an uplifting victory in the men’s 800m A race to put behind him months of frustrating Achilles tendon issues.

The 24-year-old former sprinter finished like an express train to win in 1:50.40 from national U18 and New Zealand Secondary Schools senior boys 800m champion James Ford, who had the satisfaction of setting a PB of 1:51.07. Jack Paine (Pakuranga) also enjoyed an outstanding run to place third in a PB of 1:51.18.

Devlin, who won one of his first ever 800m races winning the D race at Night of 5s as a 19-year-old, said: “It has been a long year, I’ve had longstanding achilles issues and the last half of my summer season last year just got degraded because of Covid and my achilles. I’ve had a long time off the track, so it is nice to come back hard, know the training still works and not have a sore leg.

“My plan was to go out a little bit slower because I’m not confident in my speed yet,” adds the University of Auckland theoretical biology PhD student. “The plan was to wait until the last 150m. Jack Paine came around with 200m, so with and Jack (Paine) and James (Ford) I had two people to get around. It is nice to know I had enough in my legs to win.”

Livvy Wilson made a confidence-boosting start to her season by winning a high-class women’s gift 100m in a time of 10.81 (+2.5m/s). The senior women’s bronze medallist started at 9.90m in the handicap race and after quickly establishing control of the race delivered an emphatic win.

In a tight battle for second, national 200m champion Georgia Hulls (handicap of 6.80m) finished strongly to edge her Hastings AC club-mate Shannon Geary (12.30m) in a photo-finish after both clocked 10.98.

Wilson, 30, a physiotherapist to New Zealand 100m record-holder Zoe Hobbs, said:

“I came out here with the intention of just having fun and if I get first then great if I get last, I don’t really care, I just want to get through healthy and happy.”

“I didn’t know what my handicap was, I just went up to the start line and said I am just going to start here.

“I really like it (handicap running) because I had no-one running next to you so I could go tunnel vision and focus on my lane.”

Teenager Alvin Zu (Waitakere) claimed the biggest win of his fledgling career by taking some big scalps en route to victory in the men’s 100m gift.

The 16-year-old Liston College student ran with total focus from a handicap 14.8m of to cross the line in 9.75 – some 0.19 clear of recently minted New Zealand Secondary Schools junior boys 100m champion Owen Lamb (North Harbour Bays) who grabbed second in a photo-finish from the fast-finishing national 100m U20 champion Zachary Saunders.

Following the cancellation of the outdoor women’s pole vault because of the torrential rain the competition was moved indoors with national champion Olivia McTaggart making the most of the opportunity to win with a high-class clearance of 4.51m. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Imogen Ayris (Takapuna) claimed second with 4.16m while third place finisher Hannah Ayde (North Harbour Bays) set a PB of 3.86m.

Seven-time senior men’s national champion Nick Southgate (North Harbour Bays) triumphed in the first event on the programme – the men’s pole vault – with a clearance of 5.02m.

For results go here