Millar could miss Comm Games
Kiwi sprinter Joseph Millar is in danger of missing out on qualifying for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.
Millar is racing in the Athletics ACT Championships in Canberra this weekend and New Zealand’s team for the Gold Coast will be announced next Friday. The
25-year-old from Tauranga needs to at least clock another B standard time of 20.44sec in the 200m to be considered for nomination for the Commonwealth Games.
Millar won a 200m trial in
20.68sec in the Capital Classic at Whanganui’s Cooks Gardens last Saturday, but his time was 0.24sec outside the qualifying mark and he was hindered by an unfair tail wind after officials changed the track configuration to spare athletes from storming into a head wind.
The event, which doubled as a Commonwealth Games trial, was supposed to be held in Wellington but had to be relocated – just days before the meet was held – due to delays in laying a new track at the capital’s Newtown Park.
Millar also won the 100m event in Whanganui but with a disappointing time of 11.25sec.
Hastings hosts the Potts Classic on Saturday, which represents potentially the last chance for Kiwi athletes to push for qualification for the Gold Coast.
The 200m event in Canberra that Millar is lined up for takes place on Saturday and the finals start from 6:45pm time).
Millar will also take part in the 100m in Australia’s capital on Friday but he is only planning to race in the 200m on the Gold Coast, (8:45pm NZ which runs from April 4-15.
is personal best time of 20.37sec at last year’s national track and field championships at Hamilton’s Porritt Stadium – which broke Chris Donaldson’s 20-year New Zealand 200m record – secured qualification for the World Championships in London last August.
Millar couldn’t progress past the heats in London after finishing
33rd and 39th in the 100m and 200m respectively.
He competed at the World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan, a few weeks later and finished sixth in the 200m final but only reached the semi-finals of the 100m.
And he needs another B or A standard time if he wants to compete at the Commonwealth Games.
Last year was Millar’s best to date after his brush with sprint king Usain Bolt during the Nitro Series in Melbourne in February.
Last year he breezed to New Zealand’s 100m and 200m titles with personal bests (10.18sec and
20.37sec) and completed the same double at the Australian national championships in April to become the fastest man on both sides of the Tasman.
Millar tasted the big time at London’s World Championships but failed to fire and missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals with underwhelming times of 10.31sec and 20.97sec.