Olympic Games 1500m silver medallist Nick Willis will race over 800m at Porritt Stadium Hamilton on Saturday evening. Willis is one of five Delhi Commonwealth Games medallists who will be competing at the annual Porritt Classic meeting which is part of this season’s Asics Athletics New Zealand Grand Prix Series.
The 27 year old is after a good blow out over the shorter distance a week out from racing over 1500m at the International Track Meeting in Christchurch.
Willis will be up against three times national 800m champion Tim Hawkes, Aunese Curreen winner of the national title race in 2007 and 2008, national 1500m champion Hamish Carson, Josh Komen who was second at the Capital Classic meeting last month and former national junior champion Michael Whitehead.
Willis who has a personal best 800m of 1m 45.54s from 2004, is seeking a sub 1m 48s time and will be looking to be led through the first lap in 53s.
"It will be a good hit out since arriving back in the country. I need the race to wake my body after the longer training and it will be a positive outcome leading into the meeting in Christchurch," said Willis.
Delhi double silver medallist Nikki Hamblin will compete in the women's 800m against Sylvia Potts Classic 800m winner Angela Smit. Hamblin went under the two minute barrier last year and Smit has a best time of 2m 3.87s set in Canada last year. The New Zealand W19 record is 2m 3.63s set by Lorraine Moller at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games and Smit has six months before her twentieth birthday in which to lower this time.
Brent Newdick, silver medallist in the decathlon at Delhi will compete in the 110m hurdles, the 100m, the long jump and the shot put. Last weekend in Tauranga Newdick won his fifth national decathlon title.
Stuart Farquhar who won silver in Delhi will be throwing the javelin on his home turf where last year he sent the implement out to a mighty 85.35m.
Games 100m hurdles bronze medallist Andrea Miller is in top form at the moment and given perfect conditions could go close to her New Zealand record of 13.10s set in Switzerland two years ago.
Other highlights should come from the 400m hurdles where Michael Cochrane will be up against James Mortimer and is likely to further lower his national M19 record, Alex Jordan in the 400m, the women's 100m which will be a preview of the national championship final next month with Andrea Koenen, Rochelle Coster, Anna Smythe and Andrea Miller entered, Carl Van der Speck in the men's 100m, Hayden McLaren, Malcolm Hicks and Aaron Pulford in the 1500m, Julia Ratcliffe in the women's hammer throw, Elizabeth Lamb and Billy Crayford in the high jump, Tom Walsh, Shaka Sola and Damian Smuts in the shot put and Marissa Pritchard, Ryan Roselli and James Hutchens in the long jump.
The meeting starts at 3.20pm with the final event the men's 1500m at 7pm.
