Athletics: Willis aims to make history

Nick Willis is on the cusp of placing an elusive prize on New Zealand's 1500m mantelpiece on Saturday night at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Kiwis have dominated the 1500m as much as any event in their Olympic history, winning three gold medals, one silver and two bronze. It is on a par with individual three-day eventing for success as to medal number and colour earned.

However, since the introduction of the world championships in 1983, no New Zealander has earned a track medal. The country's tally is three field golds (Valerie Adams in the shot put in 2007 and 2009, and Beatrice Faumuina in the discus in 1997) and one bronze (Adams, 2005).

Willis is in the best position of his career to change that. While the 2008 Olympic silver medallist pays homage to the country's 1500m history, there is a sense he would like to mark out some territory for himself. This season, the 28-year-old has been injury free and ran his fastest 1500m time - 3m 31.79s - in Monaco last month. He has backed it up with two other sub-3m 35s times (the world championship A standard). All came in the past eight weeks.

Willis is the third-fastest entrant in the field. He went into the Beijing Olympics as the 12th fastest with a best time of 3m 33.51s. Only eight of the 15 fastest athletes over the distance will be in Tuesday's heats.

A student of the sport, Willis is aware of the significance of a podium finish: "The lofty goals of Beijing are what I'm aiming for. Everything indicates I'm in with a good shot. Importantly I need to improve on my two previous world championship results. At Helsinki [2005], I just missed the final and in Osaka [2007], I made the final through disqualification. That was pivotal; I would otherwise not have had the experience to take to Beijing. It enabled me to cope emotionally through three rounds of racing."

Willis was injured ahead of the 2009 world championships in Berlin. Two years on in Daegu, serious competition is expected to come from this year's fastest man, Silas Kiplagat (3m 30.47s), and 2008 Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop. Moroccan Amine Laalou also shapes as a contender, having beaten Willis at the Paris Diamond League meet last month.

"The odds aren't great on all three performing," Willis says. "I understand only around 70 per cent of those at a world championship match their best form from the season. Likewise we'll only find out in a couple of days if I've got the fitness strength from my cross-country-style workouts earlier in the season to complement my recent speed work."

Willis says he revels in the three-race format of heats, semifinal and final. He says they are often easier to contest than a grand prix event, at least in the early stages.

"In a championship race, positioning is not as important as a grand prix because there are only 12 on the start line compared to what can sometimes be 19. Also, in the heats of those races can lurk Eric the Eel-types there to make up the numbers. It doesn't matter where you are, as long as you're in position by the last 300m.

"It's different in the final if you're going for the win. You have to be in a certain position. That's my dilemma - do I race aggressively for the win or run a safer race to guarantee a minor medal? I'll go for the former every time; that's what this championship is about. I've done it before at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne but it was easier against athletes you know you can beat."

Willis is tapering. He has applied a less regimented programme in recent weeks, notably spending some sessions playing frisbee with his and wife Sierra's new pup Tempo.

"I want to get out and do it again because you start to worry about your form. I seem to race better through the rounds, I enjoy tapering off training up to six days beforehand but sometimes that can leave you lethargic. In Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, I was too lackadaisical in my mental approach and the place was a bit of a shock to the system. This time I'll be more serious while trying to minimise stress."