Athletics: Long jumper gets home-town chance

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The return of transtasman track and field rivalry at Mt Smart Stadium tonight has handed Auckland long jumper Chantal Brunner a chance to further press her claims for a place in the New Zealand team for the world championships in Canada in August.

Brunner's New Zealand record-equalling 6.68m jump at last week's Australian championships took her beyond the world championships B standard of 6.65m, but left her shy of the 6.75m A standard, and almost certain selection for Edmonton.

However, while Brunner, one of four New Zealand women to have reached the B standard, gets another shot, pole-vaulter Jenni Dryburgh and 400m runners Jane Arnott and Rebecca Wardell have been left on the sideline for tonight's test because their preferred events are not on the programme. Arnott and Wardell will, however, run the 200m.

The first test against Australia since 1979 in Melbourne promises a feast of top athletics in a quick-fire programme.

John Henwood, who went under the 10,000m A standard of 28m in winning the national title, will run in the 5000m against national 3000m champion Alan Bunce and Australian 5000m champion Nigel Adkin.

The 800m clash between respective national champions Mark Rodgers (NZ) and Kris McCarthy promises to be one of the best of the night, as will the women's 100m hurdles, which has champions Nicola Kidd (NZ) and Georgina Power pitted against each other.

There is a good variety of field events and metric track races, but a couple of mile races promise plenty.

New Zealand 1500m champion Hamish Christensen (Hastings) and Wellington's Carl Jackson line up against Australian champion Clinton Mackevicius (Melbourne), Brisbane's Zacharia Ashkanasy and three local runners in the senior mile.

They may, however, be upstaged by rising star Nick Willis (Hutt Valley) in the John Walker Mile for New Zealand's best juniors.

Willis, the 800m-1500m under-18 champion, who is just back from running an indoor mile in New York, will meet under-20 1500m champion Jamie Voss.

The test, with points at stake in 24 events (for the first four placings) is the brainchild of Athletics Auckland.

It will also feature a 1600m wheelchair pursuit between Auckland's Gavin Foulsham and Australia's best, Paul Nunnari.

They will start on opposite sides of the track for the four-lap race.

Coaching legend Arthur Lydiard will unveil a bronze statue of himself at the track at 7 pm.

The meeting starts with the women's javelin at 4.45 pm.

The last race, the men's 100m, is scheduled for 7.40 pm.