Joseph Millar gets his chance to impress at the Commonwealth Games. PHOTO/FILE
Tauranga sprinter Joseph Millar has been added to the athletics team for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. He will run in the 200m.
Millar, four times the New Zealand double sprint champion at the New Zealand Championships from 2012 to 2017, made big advances last year to run a
national record of 20.37 for 200m and a resident record of 10.18 over 100m at the New Zealand Championships in Hamilton.
Gold Coast will be the first Commonwealth Games for Millar, who made his international debut in 2009 at the World Under 18 Championships.
Last year he competed at the World Championships in London, before placing sixth in the 200m at the World University Games in Taiwan.
The 25-year-old from the Tauranga Ramblers club cemented his position in the team by meeting the New Zealand Olympic Committee's required selection conditions at the 2018 Australian Athletics Championships in the 200m last weekend.
New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Kereyn Smith congratulated Millar.
"Joseph has shown a lot of determination and hard work to get to this point. He is dedicated to his craft and will be a great addition to the athletics team and to the wider New Zealand team at games time," she said.
"The sprint distances are always an exciting watch and I look forward to seeing Joseph compete on the Gold Coast."
The addition brings the number of athletics representatives in the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team to 19.
Joseph Millar Career Highlights
6th 2017 World University Games 200m
2x Australian 200m champion
2x Australian 100m champion
4x NZ Sprint double championship winner
Personal bests: 100m 10.18, 200m 20.37 (NZ record), 400m 46.99.
