Athletics: Chance to see elite grabbed

Liz Lamb. Photo / Doug Sherring

Eberstadt, Germany is perhaps not the first place that springs to mind with the prospect of overseas travel but New Zealand's top women's high jumper Liz Lamb is leaping at the chance to go there in mid-July.

Eberstadt is home to the Internationales Hochsprung Meeting, a televised event where up to 5000 high jump disciples from across the world congregate to witness the finest in their sport put their high flying into action over three days.

It is likely to be part of 19-year-old Lamb's first foray into European competition. The aim is to compete in the under-23 competition on the Friday (July 15) before settling in to watch the world's best over the weekend.

"I have to test my commitment to the sport and see where it gets me," Lamb says. "I want to get to Europe this year so I can say I gave it a shot and got more results behind me."

Terry Lomax, Athletics New Zealand's Rio 2016 performance project manager and a former national high jump champion, says the Germans put on a great show.

"It started in 1979 and the best in the world attend. I remember when I went along in the 1990s, [Cuban world record holder] Javier Sotomayor was casually leaping seven feet [2.13m] just in practice. It was a terrific sight," Lomax says.

Lamb finished in a five-way tie for sixth at the Commonwealth Games, jumping just 1.78m - her personal best is 1.85m. She is hoping to increase that height under a new coach.

"Kieran McKee, husband of [Melbourne Commonwealth Games bronze medallist] Angela, will mentor me from here. I've stayed at 1.85m the last couple of years, so I need to record better numbers. The New Zealand record is 1.92m set by Tania Dixon [nee Murray]. Ideally, I'd be pushing for 1.93m by the end of the year."

Dixon's record also happens to be the B qualifying standard for the world championships in South Korea, starting late August.

Lamb is expected to be part of a wider group of young New Zealand hopefuls who will compete in youth, under-20 and under-23 events in Europe.

They will travel across the continent from a base likely to be just outside Paris, or in Berlin. She will be gone for about a month in the mid-semester break at Auckland University so she will miss minimal study time.

Lamb's commerce-science conjoint degree is funded by a Prime Minister's scholarship which pays her fees and gives her a living allowance.

She also intends to compete in some Australian events over summer.