Petty makes coaching change
Breakups can be difficult, particularly when it means the end of a 12-year relationship.
But middle-distance runner Angie Petty felt it was time for a change, splitting with long-term coach Maria Hassan and switching to Seattle-based Danny Mackey.
The 800m specialist, who was coached by Hassan for 12 years, put in a ’’disappointing’’ performance at last year’s Rio Olympics finishing fourth in her 800m heat and failing to advance.
However, she said making a coaching change didn’t have anything to do with her performance in Rio, rather it was time for a change and it was something she had considered for ‘‘a wee while’’ before competing at her first Olympics.
‘‘It was quite a hard thing to do,’’ Petty said. ‘‘I appreciate everything she did for me all those years. I just felt I wanted a few fresh changes and I guess Danny is one of the top coaches in the world, so I thought it would be worth a change.’’
Petty, 25, flourished under Hassan, winning five national 800m titles and particularly impressing in 2015, when she broke the national 1000m record and recorded her personal-best (1min 59.06sec) on her way to winning the 800m World University Games title in South Korea.
The gold medal winning race was one of three races in 2015 she dipped under the 2min barrier, and Petty also went close to making the final at the world track and field championships the same year.
However, her form didn’t carry into 2016 and the biggest race of her life in Rio, where she also battled illness ahead of her heat.
‘‘After [2015] I thought I was in a lot better shape leading into Rio, but it just didn’t quite carry on from that,’’ Petty said.
‘‘So I want to get back to where I was and even better, have a really consistent season and try and get into some big races.’’
Petty’s new coach is the head coach of the Brooks Beasts Track Club, where he coaches a raft of top runners, including two-time US Olympian Nick Symmonds.
With Christchurch-based Petty now on his books, it’s the start of a long-distance coach/athlete relationship the Cantabrian hopes will take her up another level.
Mackey, who officially took over as Petty’s coach in October, sends her a programme each week, they message or chat on the phone regularly, and Petty sends videos of her training sessions for him to analyse.
‘‘It’s going really well,’’ Petty said. ‘‘I’ve still got all the same support team. My physio, my gym coach, my nutritionist, they’re still all the same in Christchurch.
‘‘[Mackey] has been really good at getting in touch with them, so it works really well as a whole team.’’
Petty plans to spend May in Seattle with her new coach and his 800m squad, which includes five female runners capable of clocking between 1min 58sec and 2min 0.2sec, Petty said.
Before then, she will line up in a bunch of races in New Zealand and Australia, starting with her first competitive race of the year, the Potts Classic in Hastings on Saturday.
Petty is also eyeing up the 1km street race in Christchurch on February 19, which is part of the Big Shot event, before targeting her sixth 800m national title in Hamilton in March.
In addition to spending a month in Seattle with her coach, she hopes to compete in Europe in a bid to qualify for August’s world track and field championships in London.
But what events she can attend will depend on how much funding Athletics New Zealand grant her towards competing overseas.
‘‘Since Rio my funding has been pretty tough,’’ she said. ‘‘Fair enough, that’s how sport goes - if you don’t perform you don’t get as much funding.’’
Petty will continue to mix some 1500m races into her schedule, but isn’t ready to make the full-time transition to the longer distance just yet.
‘‘I think I can still go a lot faster,’’ she said. ‘‘I’ve still got the speed there so it’s just using my endurance. I’ve got a lot of big aims for the 800m, I guess the NZ record (1min 58.25sec) would be the ultimate.
‘‘Maybe by Tokyo I might be more of a 1500m runner by then. I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes.’’