Athletics: Willis just misses medal in 1500m

Nick Willis matched strides with the best and rattled home in fourth place in a tough men's 1500m final on the last day of the world junior track and field championships in Kingston, Jamaica, yesterday.

While not quite good enough to join shot-put heroine Valerie Adams as a second New Zealander on the dais, Willis at least returns home with the satisfaction of having run a personal best in one of the sport's glamour events.

In running 3m 42.69s to finish behind Morroco's Yassine Bensghir, early pace-setter Abdulrahman Suleiman (Qatar) and Tanzania's Samwel Mwera, Willis clipped almost a second from his previous best and was well clear of fifth-placed German Toni Mohr.

Team manager Brett Addison said Willis, who had been physically sick after qualifying for the final, was more conservative in this race.

'He decided to take it easy and work his way into the race.

"Nick was eighth [of 12] with a lap to run and even at the 150m mark he was still only seventh, but then ran past a few runners in the straight.

"He clocked 54s for the last 400m and was less than four metres behind the second and third runners at the finish."

Addison said that while Adams' victory had provided the high point for the New Zealand team - who were one of 160 at the championships - there were other good performances, including Willis'.

April Brough ran a personal best in finishing ninth-fastest in the 200m, missing the final by just one place.

The men's 4x100m relay team of Clint Grooby, James Mortimer, Hayden Townsend and James Dolphin also missed out on the final, but finished with a ranking higher than Germany, South Africa and Australia.

Other New Zealanders at the championships included Tim Hawkes, who lasted only 10m of the 400m after injuring a hamstring just days before his event, and Tom Osborne, who was fourth in his 800m heat in 1m 52.15s, but failed to progress.

Townsend was sixth in his 200m heat as was Dolphin, who surprised many with his upset win in the senior 100m at the New Zealand championships in March.

Mortimer returns with a ranking of 14th in the 100m after running a 10.55s personal best.Terry Maddaford