Athletics: Tauranga fliers battle it out in dash

Joseph Millar wins the NZ Track and Field Championships 100m title from training partner Kodi Harman. Photo/Kerry Hill

Tauranga's galaxy of young sprinting stars deserved the media attention they got at the track and field nationals in Wellington.

While the shot-put showdown between Jacko Gill and Tom Walsh grabbed the headlines, the real competition was on the track last weekend, with two Tauranga training partners producing a storming 100m final.

Defending champion Joseph Millar, 21, hoped to become just the second New Zealander to win three consecutive senior men's 100m and 200m titles.

He was expected to canter to a win in the 100m final, but Papamoa's Kodi Harman, 18, tore out of the blocks to lead all the way to the 70m mark before Millar just pipped him on the line. Millar ran 10.49 to Harman's 10.54.

Millar added the 200m (21.15) to equal his long-time idol James Dolphin's record. Dolphin was also coached by Millar's Tauranga-based mentor, Kerry Hill.

Dolphin said he was impressed with Millar's progress, particularly in the 100m.

"He is just a young bloke and is certainly running very well," Dolphin said. "He just needs to get some more training under his belt. In the 100 you are running against some big, strapping lads, which typically New Zealand guys aren't.

"If he strikes that balance between getting bigger and stronger, and maintaining that speed, then he will be on track to go places."

Millar and Harman will contest the Australian championships this weekend in a final attempt to run a Commonwealth Games qualifying time in the 100m and 200m.

Other Tauranga athletes performed outstandingly well at the nationals.

Mariah Ririnui was the only woman to jump over six metres in tough cross-winds, as she retained her senior women's long jump title. She also won gold as part of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty 4 x 400m relay team but was unable to defend her 100m title, finishing third.

Michael Cochrane won the 110m hurdles title and was just .08 seconds from winning gold in the 400m hurdles. Teenager Mike Goldie, in his first year in the senior ranks, was fractions of a second from winning a bronze medal in the 200m final won by Millar.

Tauranga coach Todd Blythe had a trifecta of success in the junior girls' sprints. Abby Goldie won gold in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay finals, with Amy Robinson winning golds in the 400m hurdles, long jump, 100m and 200m relays, as well as silver in the 200m.

Mollie Florence finished second behind Goldie in the 100m.