Athletes up with the best

A five-strong group of Marlborough athletes took on the nation’s best at the New Zealand track and field championships last weekend and came away with some impressive results.

Laura Smidt, James Hansen, DJ Arbuckle, Isla Tilbury and Alex Hansen represented Tasman at the four-day event staged at Newtown Park in Wellington.

Leading the way was versatile under-20 athlete James, who won the 400m hurdles in 57.34 and was runner-up in the 110m hurdles, setting a personal best of 14.84 and Tasman record along the way. He also finished fourth in the pole vault, clearing 3.53m to set another personal best and Tasman record.

Laura competed in the senior women’s class, picking up a bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase in a time of 12.45.56.

DJ took on the under-20 men’s jumping disciplines, finishing seventh and equalling his PB in the high jump with a leap of 1.89m. He came eighth in the triple jump (11.81m) and 10^th in the long jump (5.58m).

This year saw the introduction of an under-16 division for the first time which is viewed as a natural stepping-stone on the athlete development pathway beyond the Colgate Games.

Isla picked up a bronze medal in the 400m, in a time of 59.22 sec, and a fourth placing in the 800m (2.21.03).

Also competing in the under-16 grade was Alex. He finished sixth in the 300m hurdles (46.08 sec), fifth with a PB in the high jump (1.62m) and ninth in the long jump (4.68m).

Newtown Park will also host the 2024 Championships.