Squad members in race against time
The countdown is on for a large chunk of the New Zealand team named yesterday for July’s world athletics championships in Oregon.
Ten of the 18-strong squad will be sweating on staying inside rankings cutoffs, or posting an automatic standard, between now and June 26, with several requiring at least one more big performance to secure their spots.
Athletics NZ unveiled its potential squad for Eugene (July 15-24) which includes seven athletes who have met the automatic standards and an eighth, in high jumper Hamish Kerr, who fulfils key criteria without having yet ticked off the entry mark.
The seven athletes who have booked their tickets for Oregon are led by shot put ace Tom Walsh, the 2017 world champion and bronze medallist in 2019, who will again be among medal contenders in Eugene.
Walsh and fellow shot putter Jacko Gill, Tokyo Olympic finalists Julia Ratcliffe (hammer) and Maddi Wesche (shot), as well as sprint star Zoe Hobbs, who will all attend their second world championships on the back of the 2019 Doha edition.
Rising distance prospect Geordie Beamish (5000m) and now Australiabased hammer thrower Lauren
Bruce will make their world championship debuts in Eugene.
Of the 11 further athletes conditionally selected (subject to meeting World Athletics rankings cutoffs), Kerr, a world indoor bronze medallist earlier this year, meets the selection criteria based on his top-12 performance at the Tokyo Olympics and world ranking.
Among the conditionally selected athletes are two with previous world championship experience in 400m hurdler Portia Bing, who made the first of two previous appearances as a heptathlete in 2015, and national 100m champion Eddie Osei-Nketia who sits at 40 on the World Athletics entry list, with the cutoff at 48.
Set to make their debuts, if their rankings hold up, are women’s pole vault duo Olivia McTaggart and Imogen Ayris, national javelin record-holder Tori Peeters and hammer thrower Nicole Bradley, who could provide a full complement in the field event.
Others conditionally selected are national senior high jump champion Keeley O’Hagan, 800m runners Brad Mathas and James Preston and New Zealand 200m champion Georgia Hulls.
Athletics NZ high performance chief Scott Newman said performances through to the rankings cutoff (the final team announcement is July 1) would be essential for those provisionally selected.
‘‘The Oceania champs [Mackay, June 7-11] is a good opportunity to cement rankings with the points on offer. It’s an important meet for a number of our athletes,’’ Newman told Stuff. ‘‘In many ways now it’s a case of wait and see and continue to build for the world champs in the hope they’ll remain eligible.’’
Among those sweating on the trickiest scenarios are high jumper O’Hagan, who is ranked 29th among those eligible, with a cutoff of 32, and Australia-based sprint sensation Osei-Nketia, who sits 40 in the 100m, with 48 invited.
Hammer thrower Bradley (currently 24th, 32 invited) will likely also need a strong performance in Mackay to seal what would be a historic maximum representation for New Zealand in the event.
Newman is also particularly interested to see if 800m runners Brad Mathas and James Preston can stay inside the cut line. They sit 35 and 36 at present, with 48 to be invited.
‘‘They’re very equal in terms of ability and potential,’’ said Newman. ‘‘Brad had an injury at the start of the season, but has been running well of late. Fingers crossed they can both hang on, as at their best they’re capable of the semifinals.’’
Newman is excited about the potential of the squad in somewhat of a new era, with Dame Valerie Adams and Nick Willis now having stepped aside and Eliza McCartney still working on her comeback.
‘‘There’s a depth of internationalquality athletes we haven’t had for quite some time, and at that emerging level it’s encouraging,’’ Newman said.
The largest New Zealand team to attend a world championships was the 18 who made up the group to Athens in 1997.