Athletics: Cooks Classic to return in January

Whanganui's Brad Mathas has been selected for the World Athletics Championships, which starts in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday. Photo / NZME

Last week Athletics New Zealand confirmed its summer programme and the good news for Whanganui is that the Pak’nSave Cooks Classic has been scheduled for January 27 — put in your diaries now.

The even-better news was that the Classic, unlike a few other New Zealand events, has retained its status as a Continental Tour Challenger Meet.

The other three Classic Meets in the lower North Island in late January and early February have all retained their status and preferred dates. The Potts Classic will be held on the week prior to the Cooks Classic on February 20, and the Capital Classic on February 2.

The promoters of these three popular Classics have wasted no time and have already met in Woodville to discuss some exciting innovations. The Central Cassic Series Tour will be actively promoted as a series and with it the concept of a tour.

New Zealand Secondary Schools are again likely to select a team for the Classics , adding another dimension to the series as well as being a valuable development experience. Other exciting and innovative ideas were discussed — watch this space.

This week Athletics New Zealand announced a large and strong New Zealand team of 19n for the World Athletics Championships, which starts in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday. The team has 10 women and nine men. We have six throwers, four middle-distance runners, four sprinters, four jumpers and a hurdler.

Athletics New Zealand high-performance director Scott Newman said: “We are thrilled to confirm our world championships team following a series of outstanding performances by so many of our elite athletes.

“Expectations will be high in Budapest, and we are confident the team will make New Zealand proud and perform to a high standard at the pinnacle event of the athletics year.”

Newman, a former Whanganui athlete and New Zealand triple jump champion, will not be the only former Whanganui athlete in the team group. Whanganui Collegiate-educated middle-distance runner George Beamish competes in the 3000m Steeplechase.

Beamish, who holds the New Zealand 3000m and indoor 5000m record and tops the New Zealand mile rankings, recently broke the long-standing New Zealand and Oceania 3000m steeplechase record (39 years) and looks set to further improve over the barriers In Budapest in his debut season as a steeplechaser.

The other Whanganui athlete in the team is Cullinane-educated 800m runner Brad Mathas who is now based in Melbourne.

Mathas has established an outstanding record at New Zealand Championships with eight senior 800m titles, a silver this year behind his Budapest teammate James Preston, who joined the Cooks Gardens sub-4-minute milers at this year’ Cooks Classic. Mathas heads this year’s New Zealand rankings. Both Mathas and Beamish are registered with Athletics Whanganui as their New Zealand club.

The team in Budapest has six athletes who are in the top 10 in the world and these include athletes who hold Cooks Gardens stadium records and have competed regularly at the Cooks Classic. Jacko Gill holds our stadium shot record and is ranked sixth.

Tom Walsh, a regular at the Cooks Classic, ranks above him in third. Walsh stood on top of the podium at last year’s Commonwealth Games with Gill taking silver.

They will both be the first New Zealanders in action on Saturday in the shot qualifying (8.30pm NZT) along with Beamish’s Steeplechase in the same session (9.35pm NZT). The event is being covered by Sky Sports.