Whanganui sprinter Kopere Maihi-Walker recorded several personal bests at the 2026 Porritt Classic.
For some years Whanganui was advertised as “Well worth the journey”.
My brother, with a background in advertising, stated that this slogan suggested Whanganui was difficult to access and somewhat remote and perhaps that is why it was discontinued.
The five-hour trip north from Whanganui to Hamilton for the Porritt Classic last weekend was well worth the journey, even though the journey included driving through torrential rain that later closed highways.
The dozen Whanganui athletes attending returned with 10 personal bests, a season’s best and two wins.
It is always good when the first athlete in action succeeds.
Alrese Maree did not let that pressure faze her as she won the opening event of the morning youth pre-meet with a 31.61s performance over the 200m hurdles, taking more than 1.5s off her previous best. Maree returned in the afternoon to finish fifth in the under-16 80m hurdles with another big personal best of 13.42s.
Kopere Maihi-Walker was next in action in the morning programme, finishing second over the 100m in 11.37s, enjoying a gentle tail wind in warm, humid conditions. This was a full two-tenths of a second inside his previous best, finishing second to the older Kayden Vestey (Hamilton Hawks).
An hour later, Maihi-Walker again finished second to Vestey in the 200m with another personal best 23.55s and he was back in action in the afternoon in the senior meeting. Although not matching his morning performance, his 11.49s performance was comfortably inside his previous best, finishing second in his heat and 19th of the 38 senior entries.
Whanganui’s Auguz Thjongskul, on the return from injury, was 22nd (11.58s) while Reiley Thomas was 28th with a personal best (11.79s). Thomas added another personal best in the 200m, stopping the clock at 24.03s to finish 11th, while Jaimie Munro set a personal best 100m in 13.31s (her previous best was wind-aided).
Damian Hodgson won the 400m hurdles with a season’s best of 55.36s. Last year’s New Zealand under-20 champion over the long hurdles has made steady progress over 2026 and, three weeks out from the New Zealand Championships in Auckland, he looks set to run inside his previous best and has a solid chance of a podium place on senior debut.
The 1500m schools team race for the Dianne Rodger Trophy has, for years, been on the Porritt Classic programme.
Whanganui Collegiate, many times winner of the trophy, travelled north with four runners in the three-to-score event. The team did not emulate some teams of the past, finishing third in the team’s event which attracted 28 runners from 11 schools.
In a large congested field, it is often difficult to produce fast times but, over more than two decades, I have been surprised by how the team nature of the event seems to produce a plethora of personal bests.
The 2026 edition of the event was no exception. Hannah Byam, finishing 11th, ran under 5 minutes for the first time (4m 55.85s) for a 6s personal best. Next home in 15th, Tilly Darke also improved by 6s, finishing in 15th in 5m 03.53s with the third team runner Zoe Broadhead three places behind in 5m 11.55s, some 10s inside her personal best.
The journey north was valuable as athletes prepare for the major meetings ahead.
The New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Auckland in early March are a major goal for the more experienced while the less experienced school-age athletes can focus on Whanganui Secondary Schools Championships on March 12.
A Whanganui Secondary School Team will be selected from that event to compete at the North Island Schools Championships in Auckland at the end of March.
I was saddened to hear of John Stephenson’s death on Tuesday. I shared many athletics memories with him. John, a former Whanganui athlete, followed in his father Les’ footsteps, later becoming a valued administrator. Les was a long-time administrator, both locally with Wanganui Harrier Club and with the then West Coast North Island Centre.
John gave invaluable service to many organisations, not only athletics and cross country which included a time as treasurer of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletic Association.
For many years, we also shared a large role in Whanganui secondary schools athletics and I have many happy memories of setting up courses for cross country and processing results.
We shared a friendly rivalry as coaches between the Wanganui Boys’ College and Wanganui Collegiate, competing for the Brown Jug Trophy (the losing coach paid for the beer). I may have had to pay less but John’s team had their victories, including the inaugural Round the Lake Relay, one of many events where John gave impressive and respected service.