Sir Graeme Douglas International (World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze) attracted New Zealand’s top Athletes, with great results across the grounds.
Leading the way was Portia Bing, who kick-started the track action by scalping 0.36 from her three-year-old national women’s 400m hurdles to run a stunning 55.50 on her way to an emphatic victory.
Competing in near perfect conditions on her home track, the Waitakere AC athlete looked smooth from the outset and also plundered the New Zealand resident record, meet record as well as a Commonwealth B performance standard mark.
Tokyo Olympic finalist Hamish Kerr put on a high jumping masterclass to victory with 2.30m – just 1cm shy of his national record – with another stellar display.
Tom Walsh unleashed the three longest throws of his season to continue his gradual improvement during his 2022 campaign. The double Olympic bronze medallist was disappointed with some technical elements but opened up with a 21.24m effort – 22cm more than his previous season’s best before powering the 7.26kg shot out to 21.26m in round five and climaxing his competition with a 21.23m throw.
Maddison Wesche produced a supreme performance banking victory in the women’s shot put on her seasonal debut with a mighty hurl of 18.49m in round three.
The performance was the best of her career outside of the Tokyo Olympics, where she posted a stunning lifetime best of 18.98m and finished in sixth place. The Auckland-based athletes were delighted with her performance, including an 18.38m in round four and an 18.28m toss in round one.
Zoe Hobbs once again gave a clear demonstration of her stellar form by blasting to victory in a stupendous 11.18 (+2.1m/s) – just 0.03 shy of her national record she recorded eight days earlier in Hastings. Tiaan Whelpton was similarly impressive in the men’s 100m. The tall, long-striding Christchurch-based sprinter got away to his trademark quick start and could not be stopped as he romped to a comprehensive victory in a time of 10.21 (+2.5m/s).
Tori Peeters set a meet record to claim a comfortable victory in the women’s javelin. The New Zealand national record-holder who set a New Zealand resident record mark of 60.51m in Wellington earlier this month could not match that performance today. However, the 27-year-old Hamilton City Hawks athlete still claimed a comfortable win virtue of a first-round throw of 56.50m.
The next event on the Tour is the International Track Meet – Continental Tour Bronze in Christchurch.
Header photo Credit Credit Alisha Lovrich and Report by Athletics New Zealand
