Chignell slides in well ahead
RUNNING through mud is not everyone’s idea of fun, but it is something that worked to Oli Chignell’s advantage yesterday.
The 20yearold claimed his first senior men’s crosscountry national title at Grenada North Park in Wellington, backing up after winning the under20 title last year.
He finished the 10km race in 36min 06sec to take gold, 16 seconds ahead of secondplaced Peter Wheeler, from Auckland.
It was a muddy course — in places, ankledeep — but one that suited Chignell.
He was able to use his smaller frame to glide over the mud more efficiently than many of his bigger rivals.
That helped him pull away from the field in the last 3.5km.
Early on, Auckland’s Cameron Graves — who finished third — set a fast pace around the first lap.
That pace became more manageable throughout the second and third laps as Chignell stuck with the pack to see if anyone would make a move.
Feeling good at the 6.5km mark, he decided to run at his own pace and was able to pull away, opening up a 100m gap.
It was Chignell’s second national title of the year: he also won gold in the senior 5000m at the track and field national championships.
He has also won four agegrade national medals, although he said yesterday’s win rated highly in his list of achievements.
‘‘It’s pretty up there, especially being my first year as a senior,’’ he said.
‘‘That senior 5km title was pretty special.
‘‘I think this one for crosscountry is a bigger deal. It’s over 10km, which is more of a senior men’s distance and it’s definitely a very strong field.
‘‘I’m really happy with it.’’
Chignell was also part of the Otago team, which was narrowly pipped by Auckland for the teams title.
Josh Baan, Jacob Priddey and Sam Bremer finished 5th, 11th and 13th respectively for Otago to finish with 30 points.
However, Auckland pipped it with 29 points.
Daniel Balchin, who lives in Alexandra but was representing Canterbury, finished fourth in 37min 02sec.
In the women’s race, Rebekah Greene also put on a classy display to claim bronze, finishing the 10km course in 43min 50sec.
Auckland’s Lisa Cross took the title in 41min 38sec.
Geoff Anderson claimed another gold for Otago in the men’s masters 60 grade.
He finished the 8km race in 36min 13sec, to take a 56second win.