Athletics: Solomon has to dig bit deeper for gold

Bruce Solomon is aiming for a few records at the New Zealand Masters Athletics Championships that start tomorrow. Photo / John Borren

Bruce Solomon had a bit of a false start to his masters athletics odyssey.

"I started in March 2012 and was overweight and not fit. I had aspirations of doing what I used to do when I was 25. But the first meeting I got a hamstring injury and was out for the rest of the season," he said.

It didn't put him off, though, and by the start of the next season he was more prepared.

"I had lost weight, done some proper training, had proper running shoes and I joined Tauranga Ramblers."

His efforts have paid off and at the New Zealand Masters Games, in Wanganui in early February, he won eight gold medals in track and field events.

Solomon is vice-president of Waikato/Bay of Plenty Masters Athletics, hosts of the New Zealand Masters Athletics Championships that start in Tauranga tomorrow.

More than 200 athletes will take part in track and field events at Tauranga Domain, mostly from New Zealand with a small number crossing the Tasman to compete.

Solomon has been trawling the masters' athletics records and has targeted Bruce McPhail's M50 100m record of 11.75s set in 1987.

"Anything over and above that, I will be doing it for fun and enjoying it."

It might not be everyone's idea of fun, but he will also compete in the 60m, 200m, 400m, javelin, discus, shot and, on Sunday, the pentathlon.

One of his toughest rivals in the M50 age group is likely to be another local with a reputation for performing well, Stephen Te Whaiti.

Te Whaiti holds national pentathlon records in the M35 and M40 age groups alongside a number of Waikato/Bay of Plenty records.

Mount Maunganui's Rob McGregor has competed in masters athletics events for many years and recently moved into the M75 age group

"Really, I have just performed to my best and ended up with a few records over the years," McGregor said.

He broke four age-group championship records at the recent Waikato/Bay of Plenty Masters Track and Field Championships and may go for more at the weekend. "I've had a look at a couple of the records - the long jump and the high jump - so it just depends on how I feel on the day."

He had previously tackled the decathlon, but had to stop running competitively because of a knee injury.

Other world-class masters athletes will represent the Western Bay of Plenty, including Sally Gibbs, from Katikati, who won gold medals in the W50 5000 and 10,000m at the world championships in Brazil in 2013, and Bev Savage, who dominated the throwing events at the North Island championships in Hastings in December.

Savage has set several age-group New Zealand records and now competes in the W65 group.

"When I'm competing at masters I am really setting goals for myself because it's not a very strong age group - but I have set a few distances I'd like to achieve, especially for my favourite events, the hammer and the weight throw," she said.

Masters events are the only competitions to include the weight throw, which is a similar event to the hammer throw but with a much heavier weight and a shorter chain connection to the throwing handle.

The New Zealand Masters Athletics Championships start tomorrow at 4pm. Saturday's competition begins at 9.30am, with Sunday's first event the 10km road walk at 7.30am.