News & Updates

INTERNATIONAL RESULTS

HUNGARY
19th World Athletics Championships, Budapest, 19/27 August:
Despite not winning medals, the New Zealand team produced the best result at a World Championships, with six athletes finishing in the top 10.

Tom Walsh (4), George Beamish (5), Jacko Gill (6), Maddison-Lee Wesche (7), Zoe Hobbs (10), Connor Bell (10). The previous best was four athletes in the top 10 at the 2015 championships in Beijing and four in 2017 in London.

Results:
21 August: Portia Bing 400m hurdles heats 66.97 (8H1) DNQ. Imogen Ayris pole vault qualification 4.50m (11=GA) DNQ (4.20 o, 4.35 o, 4.50 xo, 4.60 xxx). Olivia McTaggart pole vault qualification 4.35m (13GA) DNQ (4.20 -, 4.35 o, 4.50 xxx). Eliza McCartney pole vault qualification NM (GB) (4.50 xxx). Zoe Hobbs 100m semi-final 11.02 -0.4 (4H2) DNQ. Connor Bell discus throw final 63.23m (10) (63.23, x, 62.21).

22 August: Brad Mathas 800m heat 1:45.95 (5H2) DNQ. James Preston 800m heat 1:46.84 (6H6) DNQ. George Beamish 3000m steeplechase final 8:13.46 (5).

23 August: Tori Peeters javelin throw qualification 59.59m (5GB) DNQ (57.95, 59.59, 54.46). Lauren Bruce hammer throw qualification 67.10m (14GA) DNQ (67.10, 67.04, x). Georgia Hulls 200m heats 23.36 -0.4 (5H4) DNQ.

26 August: Maddison-Lee Wesche shot put qualification 18.59m (6GB) q (18.59, 18.10, 17.93), final 19.51m PB (7) (18.81, x, 19.47, 19.41, 19.51, x). PB was 1cm further than her seventh place at last year’s World Championships in Eugene.

REGIONAL ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

NEW PLYMOUTH
Taranaki Road Championships, Bell Block – 26 August 2023

Nathan Coombes, eighth in the recent Christchurch Marathon, won the senior 10km title in a PB 32:29. Mike O’Sullivan MM 10km 39:27. Bede Colbourne U18 6km 20:33. Chris Chambers U16 4km 13:27. Alex Pope U14 3km 11:00. Vivi Hales G U14 3km 11:42. Cassie Colbourne U16 4km 16:27. Emma Jamieson U18 5km 21:25. Casey Mante MW 5km 20:04.

FEILDING
Manawatu Whanganui Road Championships, Manfield Park – 27 August 2023
Amara Rae and Tessa Webb run side by side for the first 9km of the senior women’s 10km before Rae managed to break away to win in 38:14 with Webb second in 38:29. Sally Gibbs was third in 39:12, which clips 10 seconds off Bernie Portenski’s 2010 national 60-64 record.

Isaac Murphy broke away from a pack of six runners shortly after going through halfway in 15:25 in the senior men’s 10km. His move turned out to be a decisive factor going on to win in 31:02. Andre Le Pine-Day was second and George Varney third, both credited with the same time of 31:25. Triathlete Samuel Parry was fourth in 31:54 from Seamus Kane 32:12.

One of the standout performances of the day was from Nelson Doolan winning the U20 event in 31:46.

Ari Bennett (Ashhurst Athletics) won the open 5km walk in 27:32.

The U18 women’s 5km saw a great battle between Feilding Moa duo Courtney Fitzgibbon and Hayley Cornwall. Fitzgibbon held a narrow advantage at halfway, but it was Cornwall who finished the stronger in 18:22 from Fitzgibbon (18:26) – both were personal bests.

The U18 men’s 5km was won by Alec Ball in 16:30 from teammates George Skinner 17:03 (PB) and Jacob Lean 17:16. U20 runners William Larkin and Sam Stichbury were both sub-16 minutes in 15:44 and 15:55 respectively.

Masters women 5km winners: W35 Anita Chan 20:25; W40 Bex Sharratt 19:43; W45 Vanessa Hodge 22:37; W50 Wendy Cottrell-Teahan 20:31.

Masters men 10km winners: M35 Nick Johnston 34:31; M40 James Conwell 35:12; M45 AJ Cornwall 35:37. U16 boys 5km: Justin Cunningham 16:42. U16 girls 5km Emma Verry 19:21; U14 boys 3km Jai Parris 10:59. U14 girls 3km Maggie Lintott 11:57.

CHRISTCHURCH
Canterbury Road Championships, Burwood Forest Park – 26 August 2023
Angie Petty won the senior women’s 10km title in 36:40 from Emily Molloy 37:25 and Lahana Reeves 37:44. The men’s title went to Christopher Dryden in 30:21 from Oska Inkster-Baynes 30:27 and David Lee 30:33.

Master women 5km; Annie Redecki 19:23, Teresa Blackmore 19:47, Lisa Brignull 20:46. Master men 10km; Alex Kelliher 33:05 PB, Daniel Stouffer 34:23, Craig Oliver 34:38.

U20 7.5km; Toby Tasker 23:39, Liam O’Donnell 24:14, Tram O’Callaghan 24:28. U18 5km; Thomas Newson 15:36, Art Aitken 15:40.

U18 5km; Bridie Restieaux 18:19, Brynne Gordon 18:56. U16 3km; Sophie Lampe 10:33. U14 3km; Tayla Cox 10:52.

U16 4km; Max Aldridge 13:21, Otto Church 13:48. U14 3km; Luke Angland 10:12.

Laura Langley 10km race walk 49:14. Lucas Martin 5km race walk 23:36.

Non-championship 5km Cameron Swales 15:10 and Tillie Hollyer 17:25.

REGIONAL RELAY

WELLINGTON
Needle Road Relay, Cobham Drive – 26 August 2023
Wellington Harrier Athletic Club team of Callum Stewart, Max Karamanolis, Liam Chesney, Julian Baker and Nathan Tse won the 21km (3 x 5km, 2 x 3km) relay in 1:05:27 from Trentham junior men 1:09:14 and Scottish master men 35 1:11:25. Karamanolis ran the 3km in 9:18 and Tse the 5km in 15:25.

WHAC were the first senior women’s team in 1:18:59 with Sarah Drought, Poppy Healy, Eliza Squire, Laura Clayton and Saskia Cosgrove-Drayton. Drought ran the 5km leg in 16:48 and Emma Perron (Wellington Scottish) clocked 10:41 for the 3km.

ROAD AND TRAIL RACES AROUND THE COUNTRY   

AUCKLAND 
Fox Trot 5km, Viaduct Harbour, 22 August: Greg Darbyshire 15:58, Adam Berry 17:25, Andy Kilding 17:25. Grace Anderson 19:24, Bronwen Peterken 21:44, Christine Adamson 22:33.

Rat Race 5km, Takapuna, 23 August: Joel Martin 18:52, Andrew Harvey 19:05, Greg Dell 20:30.

North Shore Marathon, Milford, 27 August: Stuart Eland 2:49:54, Brent Nijssen 2:55:16, Dean Kennedy 3:10:17. Helen Kilding 3:26:00, Ketina Chivasa 3:32:30, Bridget Kiddle 3:33:40. Half marathon; Matt Smith 1:24:27, Daniel Finlayson 1:24:52, Sam Williams 1:26:30. Jen McDermott 1:32:20, Jessica Jellicoe 1:37:23.

TAURANGA
Mount Maunganui Half Marathon, 26 August: Troy Lonergan 1:10:21 PB, Andrew Lloyd 1:11:22 PB, Liam Miller 1:12:38 PB. Lydia O’Donnell 1:16:44, Amelia Lythe 1:20:00 PB, Amber Taylor 1:25:39. 10km; Conrad Visagie 34:37, Lane Madsen 34:45, Kim Gillard 35:52. Esther Keown 37:56, Kat Morgan 39:43, Alex Hawke 41:11. 5km; Joshua Madsen 19:51 and Alana Lythe 22:23.

NAPIER
Hawke’s Bay Marathon, 26 August: Ben Gatting 2:27:51, Dwayne Collecutt 2:39:42, Matt Morley 2:40:14. Ingrid Cree 2:47:42 PB, course record, Alice Mason 2:49:51, Floortje Kaars Sijpestein 3:01:46 PB. Half marathon; Harry Dixon 1:06:43 course record, Cameron Graves 1:07:25, Liam Bird 1:12:03. Camille French 1:14:43 course record, Amanda Waldron 1:23:22 PB, Alannah Van Hout 1:25:26. 10km; Mark Webber 34:37, Alexander West 36:18, Thomas Humphrey 39:15. Nisha Moorfield 39:59, Katie Lindsay 42:43, Eve Natusch 43:26.

DUNEDIN
50th Leith Harbour Free 5 and 10, 27 August: 10km; Phil Petersen 37:15, Ben Pigou 38:22, Sandor Toth 39:40. Margie Campbell 43:14, Isadora Kenney 48:28. 5km; Corey Lewis 18:22, Claudia Sole 20:07, Mark Geddes 20:15.

OBITUARY
Noted sports journalist Ron Palenski ONZM of Dunedin died on Tuesday 22 August 2023 aged 78.

He started his career with The Evening Star Dunedin and later with the New Zealand Press Association and The Dominion. More recently he has been the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.

He covered track and field at the 1974, 1978 and 1982 Commonwealth Games, and the 1976, 1980, 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. He reported for the NZPA on the 1977 World Cross Country Championships in Dusseldorf Germany. He reported on John Walker’s race at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games and Walker’s 1500m gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. He also covered many of Walker’s races on the European circuit, including his world 2000m record in Oslo in 1976. This involvement with Walker led to Palenski producing an autobiography John Walker Champion in 1984. He also wrote in conjunction with Terry Maddaford, The Games, a comprehensive history of New Zealand’s involvement in Olympic, Empire and Commonwealth Games. In 2018 he wrote an amazing story of New Zealand’s first world champion in any sport, race walker Joe Scott in the late 1880’s. He has written over 50 books, mainly on rugby. In the 2003 New Year Honours he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to sports journalism and in November 2022, he was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.