International track meet ‘unlikely’ for city
Any hope of an international track meet (ITM) returning to Christchurch next year appear to be all but over.
A pre-Commonwealth Games meet had been pencilled in for the city’s new multimillion-dollar Nga¯ Puna Wai sports hub in March, but the venue is ‘‘unlikely’’ to be completed on time.
The city’s wettest year since 1975 has hindered progress on stage one of the hub, including the all-weather track, which was originally slated to open in December or January.
Christchurch City Council recreation services manager David Bailey recently told International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) class track was set to open on March 22.
ITM event director Paul Coughlan isn’t yet ready to admit defeat, but admitted it was more likely the city would again host a Big Shot and street race.
Coughlan told the council the new track would need to be completed by the end of February the to allow enough time to stage the first ITM in the city since 2014. ‘‘Obviously as time goes by and the council aren’t able to give us a definitive answer that yes it will be ready, we need to push ahead with our planning and the easy option is to continue with that same format we’ve had the last couple of years,’’ Coughlan said.
‘‘We were always keeping our options open between Nga¯ Puna Wai, if it was going to be available, or doing a street event like we’ve done over the last few years.’’
The Garden City has been without an IAAF-standard track since QEII was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake. ITMs were previously held at Christ’s College, but ceased after the 2014 event due to athletes’ concerns over competing on a grass track.
Coughlan will make a call whether or not to push forward with the ITM before Christmas.
‘‘At this point it’s probably looking like that’s unlikely,’’ he said.
‘‘It is what it is. If we had something available preCommonwealth Games, that would have been fantastic, but we will still do something somewhere else.’’
The alternative event would resemble this year’s event, which featured the Big Shot, headlined by Kiwi world champion shot putter Tom Walsh, and a 1km street race.
Coughlan suggested pole vault could also be included, although it would depend on the availability of athletes such as Kiwi star Eliza McCartney.
‘‘There’s all sorts of things we could do potentially, we’re just working our way through those at the moment. ’’
If the ITM is ditched for another year, the Big Shot would most likely be held at Victoria Square, and the street race on Kilmore St, in the central city.
Coughlan was confident Walsh and Olympic 1500m silver and bronze medallist Nick Willis, both regulars at past events, would take part.
Walsh, Coughlan and Athletics New Zealand lured Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser, fellow American Ryan Whiting and Aussie gun Damian Birkinhead to Christchurch for this year’s event, something Coughlan is keen to see repeated.
‘‘That’s the power of Tom, I guess. There are a lot of people around the world sitting up and looking at what he’s done and how he’s doing it.’’