KEY POINTS:
Commonwealth Games shot put champion Valerie Vili returns to competition following minor surgery on her shoulder, at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) permit meeting at QEII stadium, Christchurch, tomorrow.
Vili, named 2006 sportswoman of the year at the Halberg Awards in Auckland last Thursday, has been in training since the surgery in December.
"This is the first IAAF permit meeting to be held in New Zealand so it is very exciting," Vili said today.
Vili is looking forward to the challenge posed by American Kristin Heaston who had a best last year of 18.24m. Heaston won the shot put last week in a Sydney meeting with 17.74m.
The meeting gives New Zealand athletes the opportunity to gain points towards the world athletic final to be held in Stuttgart in September.
The other highlight in the field events will be the contest between Beatrice Faumuina and Australia's Dani Samuels in the women's discus.
Faumuina won round one in Canberra at the end of last month with a throw of 62.08m to Samuel's 59.05m.
Australian Youcef Abdi has been confirmed in the 1500m.
Abdi, 1500m bronze medallist at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, has a best time of three minutes 36.35 seconds.
New Zealand runners confirmed for the 1500m are Athens Olympian Jason Stewart, Carl McKenzie, top junior Dallas Bowden and Samoan record holder Aunese Curreen.
The men's 100m features James Dolphin, Chris Donaldson, Matt Brown, Carl van der Speck, David Falealili and Moses Kamut from Vanuatu.
The New Zealand relay squad will have another crack at the 39-seconds standard in the 4x100m relay for the Osaka world championships later this year.
Other top New Zealand athletes in action will be Chantal Brunner and April Brough in the women's 100m, James Mortimer in the 110m hurdles, Melina Hamilton in the pole vault, Melbourne Games 50km walk silver medallist Tony Sargisson in the 3000m track walk, and another Melbourne Games medallist Angela McKee in the high jump.
Young sprinter Monique Williams will also be competing.
Williams won the Australia Cup 400m in Brisbane, the Australian under-23 200m and 400m titles in Hobart and last weekend in Sydney ran the 200m in 23.51sec to qualify for the world university games in Thailand in August.
Williams will race the 400m.
The men's 400m will feature Cory Innes and Andrew Underwood from New Zealand.
Underwood, the national secondary schools champion, was second in the Australian under-20 championship, and has a best time this season of 47.17sec set in Sydney in mid-January.
Innes ran a fast 46.90sec at the Canberra Australian A-Series meeting.
- NZPA
