Sprinter decides to specialise

A step up to senior status has prompted multi-talented Marlborough athlete James Hansen to make a significant decision.

The 19-year-old has enjoyed several years of success in a variety of track and field events, including the gruelling decathlon in which he became accomplished across all 10 disciplines.

However, as he moves from junior to senior ranks in 2025, James has set his sights on his specialist event – the 400 metres hurdles – and is now training specifically for the one-lap, 10-hurdle race.

He is excited by the switch in focus.

“It’s been nice getting away from [the decathlon],” he said.

“There is less pressure on every other event, meaning I can focus more on the sprints. I have had three or four years at the 400 hurdles and I find it suits me better.

“Now I am getting into that zone of understanding the race a bit more. It is a mix of power, explosive speed and endurance … also technique and stride are really important, if you don’t get your strides right you are not going to have a good race.”

In a bid to improve his hurdling, James has enlisted the help of local athlete Remy le Brun, who has supervised his gym work, leading to an improvement in power, explosiveness and speed. The pair are working alongside longtime coach, James’ father Dave Hansen, the trio relishing the more specific training requirements.

“With decathlon you are doing three events per training session. With the hurdles you can focus 100 percent on each session, make it top quality … to improve a lot faster.

“It’s about consistency. I have found that the more I do [the 400 hurdles] the better I am getting … I’m aiming for a PB pretty much every race I run now.”

In preparation for the nationals, to be staged in Dunedin in early March, James will race at the Cooks Classic, in Wanganui later this month, then, two weeks later, the prestigious Sir Graeme Douglas International meet in Auckland, providing a well-spaced lead-in to the NZ champs.

And he is setting his sights high.

“My aim is to run a PB at the nationals, make the final and be in with a chance to win,” the quietly-confident teen said. “I’m not going there just to make up the numbers.”

James enjoyed plenty of success at his preferred event over the past year, prompting his decision to put most of his eggs in the one basket.

He represented New Zealand at the Oceania champs in Fiji, finishing seventh in the open grade, then claimed the national under-20 title and finished third at the Australian under-20 nationals.

At the Cooks Classic, he placed third in open company then, at the Porritt Classic in Hamilton he won the open title before finishing fourth at the Sir Graeme Douglas International, among a field containing several overseas athletes.

The Tasman senior record-holder has a best time over the 400m hurdles of 54.18 sec, set at the Sir Graeme Douglas International last year, a best 400m time of 48.95, and recently set a 100m PB of 10.95 so feels he is well on track for a summer of success.

The step up to open ranks is not a concern. Having competed against senior athletes at several events last year and tasted success, James is undaunted by the more experienced opposition, in fact, relishing the “underdog” tag.

“The hurdles are the same height, the distance is the same … and I know all the other runners now, we are good mates but still trying our best to win.

“This season is particularly exciting … I am taking it a bit more seriously because since I left school [in 2023] I feel [track and field] is now my main job.

“I have another job, to pay the bills, but I just love training hard and racing … seeing those improvements,” he added.