Athletics New Zealand - update

Boston Marathon
After leading the women's section of Boston Marathon at the half half way point, Kimberley Smith was forced to withdraw 30 km into the race.

"I was feeling awesome at 25km, best I've ever felt in a race, then had to slow down, I couldn't put any weight on my leg, it wasn't sore but just couldn't put any weight on it." said a disappointed Smith.

The first New Zealander to finish was Concord, MA based Chris Hartshorn in 2h 24m 9s in 35th place, followed by Nicholas Brown in 2h 29m 47s in 76th. Shireen Crumpton was the leading New Zealand woman in 2h 51m 24s, placing 6th in her age category.

Amoung the thirty one New Zealanders to finish was The Edge radio morning host Dom Harvey, who completed the race in 3h 22m 21s.

Asics Grand Prix Winners Found
The inaugural Asics Athletics New Zealand Track and Field Grand Prix winners have been found following the New Zealand Track & Field Championships in Dunedin, the final round in the series.

The format of the competition was revised slightly with the cancellation of the penultimate round, the International Track Meet in Christchurch, but was still contested over six key meetings from January to March.

The sixteen winners will all receive vouchers for a pair if Asics shoes.

Event Winners:
400m Men Alex Jordan
1500m Men Hamish Carson
400m hurdles Men Michael Cochrane
2 x 100m Men Joseph Millar & Ryan Howe
High Jump Men Billy Crayford
Shot Put Men Tom Walsh
Combined Events Men Brent Newdick
400m Women Louise Jones
800m Women Angie Smit
100m hurdles Women Sarah Cowley
2 x 100m Women Mariah Ririnui & Tracey Hale
Long Jump Women Marissa Pritchard
Discus Women Leesa Lealaisalanoa
Combined Events Women Sarah Cowley

The best individual performances during the series based on the IAAF points tables were Andrea Miller (100m hurdles), Michael Cochrane (400m hurdles), James Mortimer (400m hurdles) and Alex Jordan (400m).

Athletics New Zealand Rio 2016 Manager Terry Lomax said the Grand Prix Series achieved its aims, encouraging athletes to compete at multiple rounds of the classic events and rewarding both consistency and performance during the summer.

“It was a very successful series. We had just over two hundred athletes scoring GP points over the six meetings” said Lomax. “Next season we will be fine tuning the concept and looking at the mix of events.”

Commonwealth Youth Games Team Announced
Seventeen athletes have been named in the New Zealand team to compete at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man 7 - 13 September.

Women:
Greer Alsop (Southland) Long jump, Triple jump
Madison Gipson (Overseas) 200m, 100m hurdles
Paige Harwood (Auckland) High jump, Long jump
McKenzie Keenan (Canterbury) 100m hurdles
Che Kenneally (Overseas) Shot put, Discus
Kerry White (Waikato BOP) 800m
Men:
Matt Baxter (Taranaki) 3000m
Jesse Bryant (Canterbury) Long jump
Richard Callister (Auckland) Discus
Dalton Coppins (Auckland) 200m
Alex Fafeita (Wellington) Shot put, Hammer
Blair Grant (Otago) 100m
Kodi Harman (Waikato BOP) 100m, 200m
Matthew Holcroft (Waikato BOP) 10,000m walk
Kieron McDonald (Wellington) 800m, 1500 m
Tom Symes (Man/Wanganui) 400m
Kyle Van der Merwe (Taranaki) Shot put, Javelin
Harman, Grant, Coppins, Symes, Bryant 4x100m relay

Commonwealth Ultra Distance Champs Team Announced
The following athletes have been named in the New Zealand team for the Commonwealth Ultra Distance Champs 24 hours race.

Men:
Matt Bixley (Otago)
Wayne Botha (Auckland)
Alex Mckenzie (Waikato BOP)
Women:
Val Muskett (Otago)

The team Manager will be John Muskett.