Having tucked the New Zealand sprint titles into his back pocket, 20-year-old Tauranga athlete Joseph Millar leaves today for an assault on the Australian champs.
Millar will line up in the 100m on Saturday at Melbourne's Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park and the 200m a day later, hoping to medalin both events against the Aussie quicks who are still jostling for Olympic selection.
The former Aquinas College student sensationally won four gold medals at the New Zealand track and field championships at Waitakere last month, taking the senior men's 100m in 10.36s, the 200m in 21.74s, as well as the M20 4x100m and 4x400m relay titles with the Waikato-Bay of Plenty team.
Miller spoke then of wanting to have a crack at Australia's top sprinting talent, but was unsure how to pay for it. Cash from family, friends and Pat Wigley at Tauranga's CNS (physio and chiropractic) Clinic has helped make the trip a reality.
Millar will bunk down in a motel with Auckland sprint coach Joe Hunter and has several specific goals to tick off in Melbourne, although he's unsure whether the cream of Australia's sprinters will be there.
"There's a couple of them struggling with injuries right now but there should still been good fields in both races," Millar said. "If I run the 200m time I want I'm confident I can win, although the 100m will be a huge challenge."
Millar is set on running a personal best in the 200m and also has his eye on the New Zealand M19 sprint records.
"I haven't run a fast legal 200 since 2010 so it's a bit overdue. I thought I might have been able to do it at the nationals but there was a big headwind which put me a second outside what I wanted."
Millar's best is 0.1s outside the M19 record and the 200m mark is 20.09, which he's sure he can also topple.
Millar has hardly let up at training at Tauranga Domain since the sprint double, although he had a scare in his final session on Tuesday when he rolled his ankle in a gentle warm-up run. But the injury had settled down by yesterday and he is confident it won't be a hindrance over the weekend.
