Pak’n’Save Cooks International Classic and NZ Mile Championships
Cooks Gardens will take centre stage this weekend as the Pak’nSave Cooks International Classic arrives as the first Continental Tour Bronze label meeting in Oceania for 2026. The meeting brings together local and international athletes chasing ranking points and qualification standards as the road to the 2026 Commonwealth Games, World Indoor Championships and World Under 20 Championships begins to take shape. Adding to the occasion, the historic venue will also host the New Zealand Mile Championships.
Athletics fans in Whanganui will see a full afternoon of competition from 4pm, with the main programme and live broadcast getting underway at 7pm on TVNZ+.
The action returns! Fresh from claiming national 60m short track titles, Zoe Hobbs and Tiaan Whelpton return to the start line to contest the 60m and 100m double. Both will have one eye on the World Indoor Championships automatic qualifying mark for March 2026, New Zealand’ rising tide of sprinters will be hot on their heels in both races.
In the field, Nick Palmer, Oceania Shot Put Champion steps into the circle after claiming the Shot Put title at last week’s NZ Short Track Championships. In the Women’s events Lauren Bruce, Oceania Hammer Champion and Oceania Record holder will step into the circle twice, in both Hammer and the Shot Put event.
The high jump competitions promise tight battles. Maddi Wilson and Imogen Skelton meet again in the women’s event, each carrying personal bests of 1.87m. Trans- Tasman, rivalries continue in the men’s high jump, led by Simioluwa Thomsen Ajayi at 2.20m, with a deep group consistently clearing two metres or more. Cook Islands national record holder Samasoni Hewitt will also be looking to lift his mark beyond his current mark of 2.00m.
The New Zealand Mile Championships add a layer of history to the meeting. Just over 60 years ago, Peter Snell broke the world mile record on this same track, and the echoes of that moment remain part of the fabric of Cooks Gardens.
In the women’s mile, Rosa Twyford arrives off the back of her 800m win at last week’s Potts Classic, facing strong challenges from Scarlett Robb, the Zatopek under 20 3000m winner, and Holly Manning. Irish 1500m champion Laura Nicholson looms as a genuine podium threat and could disrupt a New Zealand clean sweep.
The men’s mile sees another chapter in the growing rivalry between Sam Tanner and Sam Ruthe, this time stepping up from their recent 800m personal bests. Tanner holds the fastest mile time on paper, but Ruthe and a rising group of New Zealand distance runners, including Joe Martin and Ethan Smolej, will make for an exciting race at Cooks Gardens
The Pak’nSave Cooks International Classic and New Zealand Mile Championships will be broadcast live from 7pm on TVNZ+. Live results will be available via the Roster app for those following from outside New Zealand.