Although an individual sport, the team aspect adds another dimension and many times a fellow teammate encourages a flagging athlete, resulting in a renewed surge of energy. I can remember the encouragement from teammates and I can also remember being passed by a slower teammate who somehow produced a new level of lost energy to restore the team’s pecking order.
There was plenty of character revealed at the Whanganui Collegiate School Cross Country Championships on Friday. All age groups run a 3km course on the golf course behind the Houses. The present course was set up in 2020 to make the event manageable under the Covid restrictions. The course and the 3000m distance for all age groups have been retained and were used for the fifth time this year, allowing students to compare performance from past races.
There were many who made significant improvement, notably the second-placed junior Toby Gill who ran a whole minute faster than last year. There will be others who may have not matched last year and on reflection know they could have done better. There may also have been one or two absent on the day who can also do some personal reflection.
The senior boys winner, Oliver Jones, was concerned about the fast start at next week’s New Zealand Secondary Schools following a missed week of preparation through illness. I responded that the shorter Whanganui Collegiate event provided the perfect opportunity to practise the start. Jones responded with a very fast start and, although he couldn’t hold the pace in the second lap, neither could the others and he ran away from the leading group. Jones was prepared to forgo his usual caution and, although a little disappointed with his time, can look back on his determination and race planning. The senior girls was won by Rosa Meyer by a wide margin, having a new-found relaxation.
The House competition was won by Hadfield where teamwork, organisation and determination won the day.
Good sportsmanship was also on show. Near the back of the field, a girl was clearly having major problems and was being encouraged on every painful step by another athlete. I suggested that the struggling athlete pull out, which she did. I expected her companion to take the same opportunity but, having done her good deed, she continued to run, overtaking some athletes ahead of her.
It is great to be able to watch the Diamond League Meets at no charge on TVNZ+ and on Monday morning, tuning in to watch the Stockholm Meet, I saw some outstanding track and field. It included Swedish pole vault star Armand du Plantis having three tantalisingly close attempts at beating his own world record in front of his home crowd. His record stands at 6.24m and, on the final two attempts, it looked like he was going to succeed at the new height of 6.25m. The vaulting impressed, as did the sporting encouragement by all his fellow athletes. Du Plantis, having supported his rivals throughout, was in turn encouraged by the whole field.
Juliet McKinlay had a memorable first international appearance at the Oceania Championships in Fiji.
The 15-year-old Whanganui Collegiate student had to deal with delayed flights that arrived after the scheduled start of the heptathlon. McKinlay and the other New Zealand under-18 representative, Charlotte Blake, were allowed to compete in the seven events together, apart from the rest of the field, and their points were used in deciding the final places. This is far from ideal without the competition of the whole field.
McKinlay coped superbly with the unexpected, beating her own best score by recording 4283 points (a Whanganui Collegiate School record) to take bronze. More importantly, she set personal bests in long jump, shot, 200m and javelin (by 10m). A determination not to be fazed by the unexpected is an important quality for success in sport.
The postponed Whanganui Schools Cross Country is to be held today at Dudding Lake — a chance for further character reveals. I will report on the championships and preview the New Zealand Schools Championships next week.
