Laurie has his sights set on World Masters Games

When you go to the New Zealand Athletics Masters Championships and win all your events in the 65 to 69 year category what is left to strive for?

The World Masters Championships of course, and they’re on in Auckland in April.

Laurie Malcolmson is addicted to athletics. He started at school, finding the life on a dairy farm made him pretty fit. On moving to Auckland he trained at Mt Smart and ran in the first-ever athletics event held there.

Competing in the shorter track events, javelin, discus, triple and long jump Laurie held Auckland titles and decathlon national titles. He was invited to trial for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. In 1974 he was in line for the New Zealand Commonwealth games in sprinting, clocking his best-ever time of 10.4 seconds for the 100 metres.

Injury prevented him from competing and, discouraged, he gave up the sport.

Thanks to encouragement from wife Gloria, Laurie resumed in the sport in 1981 and he has since competed in National, Oceania and World Masters Games, the latter in Japan, USA, Australia and South Africa.

In the USA Nationals in Buffalo he was the only Kiwi in the 100 metre event and was interviewed on American TV.

Competing in Nelson in his favourite 60 metre, 100 metre, 100 metre hurdles, 300 metre hurdles and javelin, he won gold in all, breaking his own 300 metre hurdles New Zealand record, going under 50 seconds and setting the world’s fastest time for the event so far this year.

At the World Masters In April there will be 20,000 athletes from 23 countries, providing some serious competition.

He will know a lot of his opponents, having met them regularly in the World, Oceania and Australasian circuits and they have become firm friends.

“There is real camaraderie, except on the track,” says Laurie. He admits retaining his fitness from its peak last month is a challenge but the event in April will be slightly different. There will be heats before the finals due to increased numbers of athletes.

“Sprinting the slopes at the Dannevirke Lower Domain by myself is not that much fun, and travelling to Hastings and Masterton for hurdles is a hassle,” says Laurie.

He says he feels bad when he doesn’t get out to train, while travelling and competing in events is great for both he and Gloria who admits to getting quite emotional during the events.