Athletics: Read running hot

With a bronze and silver safely in the bag, 18-year-old sprinter Graeme Read will look to complete the set today by adding gold at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletics Championships in Hamilton.

Read picked up a bronze in the 100m at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Bendigo and a silver while running the second leg of the 4x100m relay.

His fourth place in the 200m made him arguably the pick of the track athletes in an impressive overall team performance which saw New Zealand finish fifth on the table with 10 golds, 18 silvers and 19 bronze medals.

The Zimbabwean-born Read was unlucky not to take silver in the 100m, running 10.82 seconds into a stiff headwind only to be pipped at the line by England's Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, who clocked 10.81 seconds.

Read, like many of his team-mates who competed in Australia, had no time to wallow in his glory. The track programme at Bendigo finished late on Friday night, giving several team members very little rest ahead of today's championships in Hamilton.

It will be a testing time for Read, but the Rangitoto College pupil is confident he should have just enough gas left in the tank to get himself through the 100m semifinal and then hopefully to the top of the medal podium.

"I am really stoked with how I went in Australia. My personal best is 10.79 and I ran 10.82 into a headwind. My legs are really sore and my hamstrings are just so tight.

"We are not used to running three races a day over two days. When I came round the bend in my 200m heat I was in last place.

"I'll get some physio and massage on my legs and see how I go."

Among the other medal winners on the track were Carl Mackenzie, who took bronze in the 1500m, Jessica Penney, whose leap of 6.06m earned her a silver berth in the long jump and Hayden McLaren, who was third in the 3000m.

It was, however, in the pool where New Zealand enjoyed their greatest success, with the swimmers collecting an outstanding haul of nine gold medals.

Corney Swanepoel, who competed at the Olympics in Athens, was the star performer for New Zealand, winning both the 50m and 100m butterfly, the 50m freestyle, the 4x100m individual medal relay and a silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

Kelly Bentley won gold in the women's 200m breaststroke, Kelly Newcombe gold in the 50m backstroke and Glenn Snyders gold in the 100m breaststroke.

In boxing, Hutt Valley welterweight Joseph Blackbourn proved that he is capable of shining on the world stage when he was narrowly defeated in his final in Bendigo.

After overwhelming Australian boxer Dean Russell in the semifinal bout, Blackbourn faced English fighter Ryan Pickard in the final.

In a bout that went right to the wire and was considered the fight of the night, Blackbourn lost narrowly on points 23-30 to secure the silver medal.

Pickard was the pre-tournament favourite on the strength of his silver medal at the World Junior Championships. Another Hutt Valley fighter, Scott Gardner, also won a medal, with the bronze in the featherweight division.

A comprehensive stoppage victory over a Fijian opponent had Gardner meeting Australian Joel Bunker in a semifinal bout. Bunker, who represented his country at this year's Olympics, took the decision with a 20-point differential.

New Zealand also won medals in the gymnastics, lawn bowls and weightlifting.

This was the second Youth Games, the first taking place in Edinburgh four years ago.