Willis looks for one more big run to clinch spot in Tokyo
Veteran Kiwi athlete Nick Willis is in a race to the wire to make it to his fifth Olympics in Tokyo next month.
The 38-year-old Michigan-based Lower Hutt athlete has been selected in the New Zealand team to race the 1500 metres at the Tokyo Games, but faces an anxious last couple of weeks as he flirts dangerously with the World Athletics cutoff for invitations.
Willis is in Europe racing, and may need to post one more quality time to clinch his spot. The two-time Olympic medallist (silver in Beijing, bronze in Rio) will become the first Kiwi male athlete to compete in five Olympics if he makes it to the start-line in Tokyo.
With the selection cutoff approaching (June 22 for New Zealand athletes not yet selected, and June 29 internationally), Willis is among a small group of Kiwis sweating on last-gasp performances.
He currently sits at No 45 on World Athletics’ Road to Tokyo rankings (39 athletes have achieved the 3:35 entry standard, and the Kiwi is sixth among those who haven’t) which is the exact cutoff for the 1500m.
‘‘Nick is a little bit at risk.’’ said Athletics New Zealand high performance chief Scott Goodman. ‘‘We think he’ll get there, but it’s just a little bit touch and go.
‘‘If he can get in one good run over the next couple of weeks, 3:36 or better, he should be fine.’’
Willis had his first hitout in Copenhagen over the weekend but did
not manage the sort of time required. He races again in Prague early tomorrow and will have a couple of more hitouts after that before returning to the United States.
Goodman admits to some nerves around Willis because he missed out on a spot at the Doha world championships in similar circumstances, but believes he may have a spot or two up his sleeve with the possibility an athlete or two ahead might drop out before the Games.
Young discus thrower Connor Bell is also in a tight situation, but Goodman is confident the 19-year-old, who turns 20 next week, will make it inside the cutoff.
Bell is 30th on the Road to Tokyo rankings, with 32 to be invited to compete. His national record of 64.29m, set in January, is just shy of the entry standard of 65m.
But the Aucklander threw 63.99m to finish second on the Gold Coast on Saturday and Goodman is confident this will improve his position when the rankings are updated on Thursday. That was the second furthest he has ever thrown the 2kg implement.
‘‘He looks pretty safe,’’ said Goodman. ‘‘We don’t think the guys behind him can get past him, and we don’t think anyone else is going to post the automatic standard.’’
Javelin thrower Tori Peeters is in a less comfortable position. The Waikato athlete was provisionally selected in the Tokyo squad, but asked to meet a target of two 61.50m throws, or one of 62m before the cutoff.
She now has one last event, in Townsville this Saturday, to throw 62m to seal her spot for the Games. She withdrew from the Gold Coast meet last Saturday with a back problem.
Peeters’ PB is 62.04m, and she currently sits one spot outside the top 32 on the Road to Tokyo rankings.
Pole vaulter Olivia McTaggart is in an interesting position. She sits right on the cutoff at 32 on the rankings, but needs to clear the entry standard of 4.70m, or close to it, to earn selection. She and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Eliza McCartney, who has been plagued by injury in recent years, will make a lastditch attempt to qualify at the AUT Millennium facility in Auckland on Saturday.
Portia Bing ran well over the 400m hurdles at the Gold Coast on Saturday (winning in a smart 56.37sec), but still needs 55.40 to go to Tokyo. She, too, will have a final crack at that in Townsville.