News & Updates

Elite endurance athletes will be able to target two national 10,000m championships in a two-month period following an announcement that the 2023 event will be staged in Wellington on Saturday 18 November and the 2024 edition will be held in Dunedin on Saturday 13 January to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Dick Tayler’s legendary 10,000m triumph at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games.

The return of the Championships for a second successive year to the popular Wellington 10,000m Festival further cements its status as one of New Zealand’s premier 10,000m meets.

Acting as a final trial race before selection for the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Croatia (10-11 February) there will be no shortage of motivation for the runners to target a quick time and the meet is also buoyed by the installation of floodlights at Newtown Park following the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will allow for the racing to take place at a later time, potentially allowing for better conditions.

Co-event organiser Nick Horspool said: “We are really delighted to get the national 10,000m champs again. It shows the event was successful last year and we want to continue to grow it and attract the top runners, not only to run fast times but also compete for national medals.

“We are stoked we can race under lights. This will add to the atmosphere but as the Wellington winds usually drop off after dusk switching the races to later in the evening will hopefully lead to quicker times.

The 2024 New Zealand 10,000m Championships will take place on Saturday 13 January on the evening following day two of South Island Colgate Games (held from 12-14 January) at the Caledonian Ground and, according to former Ariki Athletic & Harrier Club President Brent Halley, the return of the event to Dunedin will be a fitting tribute to Tayler, who claimed Commonwealth 10,000m gold on 25 January 1974.

Halley, who was instrumental alongside fellow Ariki club member Russell Lund in bringing the national 10,000m championships back to Otago in honour of Tayler, said: “As Dick is a life member of Ariki and now Patron of Athletics Otago we felt this was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

“I recall watching Dick’s victory in the 10,000m at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games as a nine-year-old boy and it inspired both me and lots of other New Zealanders to get out and go for a run. Those were incredible times and as our history needs to be recognised, we saw this as an ideal opportunity to bring the 10,000m champs back to Dunedin.”

While the event does not quite coincide with the exact 50^th anniversary the timing of the event – four weeks out from the 2024 World Cross Country Championships – will present an ideal “proof of fitness” opportunity for those selected athlete bound for Croatia.

In the wake of the FIFA Women’s World Cup floodlights have also been installed at the Caledonian Ground, although given how late dusk falls in Dunedin in January athletes are likely to still be competing in the light.

Tayler said of the move to locate the New Zealand 10,000m Championships to Dunedin to coincide with the 50^th anniversary of his gold medal triumph: “I am over the moon that the event will be coming back to Dunedin. I have a long association with the Ariki club and as Patron of Athletics Otago and living back in the area this is very special. Winning the Commonwealth title in January 1974 was such an important moment in my life and the 2024 New Zealand 10,000m taking place at the Caledonian Ground following a day of action at the Colgate Games will be very exciting.”

Athletics NZ Events Manager Jason Cameron said: “The 10,000m championships is a calendar event and having the two events in close proximity allows for two quality opportunities for domestic athletes to race fast. The 2023 event is a last chance for athletes to gain a qualification mark for the 2024 World Cross Country Championships while for those selected athletes the 2024 athlete offers an ideal opportunity just four weeks ahead of the World Cross Country Championships to run a fast 10km to step up preparations for Croatia.”

Both events will hope to set up entry portals in due course.