The 100m sprint takes off at Cooks Gardens on Saturday during the Capital Classic. Expect more tonight at the Cooks Classic.
The 100m sprint takes off at Cooks Gardens on Saturday during the Capital Classic. Expect more tonight at the Cooks Classic.
The hard working group which hastily helped host the Capital Classic on Saturday after it moved from Wellington with 72 hours notice will do it all again for the Cooks Classic today.
Saturday's Meeting was highlighted by Joseph Miller's 200m performance of 20.68s.
Although just above the legal limit forrecord purposes, the ability to start the 200m races from either end of the track, and the preparedness to set up a second camera to record it, makes Cooks Gardens a special venue.
Commonwealth Games trialists in tonight's outstanding 100m hurdle field will welcome this, as they can guarantee a favourable wind.
The Cooks Classic provides an opportunity to see leading athletes striving for inclusion in the Commonwealth Games team, and our local representatives to enter competition with national ranked performers.
Josephine Reeves clears the bar while winning the high jump on Saturday. The women's high jump will be the pre-meet event tonight at Cooks Gardens.
Pre Meet 6pm: An outstanding Women's High Jump field with eight leading athletes not only vying for prize money but also hoping to reach the incentive bonus for clearances above 1.80m. There is a combined Long and Triple Jump – prizes decided by international comparison tables.
The Cooks Classic 7pm: Commonwealth Games High Jump Trial. Hamish Kerr will be looking to beat his own Cooks Gardens record, set last year, but also nailing the Commonwealth Games qualifier. Former Whanganui Decathlete Max Attwell, fresh from a personal best in Queensland last week, will look for further progress.
7.25pm: 100m Hurdles. Attwell moves quickly from high jump to hurdles. He will have strong opposition from New Zealand international decathlete Brent Newdick and Cantabrian James Sandilands. Local interest is provided by North Island School's medal winner Richmond Wells.
7.30pm: Women's Commonwealth Games Javelin Trial. Featuring New Zealand record holder Tori Peeters on her return to Cooks Gardens, who will be looking to cement a Games berth with strong competition from Stephanie Wrathall (Auckland) and Laura Overton (Otago).
7.35pm: Commonwealth Games 100m Hurdles trial. All eight lanes are filled with the main action in the middle lanes between Games' hopefuls Rochelle Coster and Fiona Morrison. All athletes will be happy they are guaranteed a favourable tail wind and have an attractive performance bonus available.
7.45pm: Handicap 400m. Twenty-four athletes are chasing the winner takes all prize (the largest of the evening) All run 400 metres with handicap times deducted. There is strong local interest.
7.50pm: Commonwealth Games Long Jump Trial featuring Kelsey Berryman who loves the Cooks Gardens Long Jump pit.
8pm: 100m Men's. Look for Palmerston North's Zac Topping and former Collegiate sprinter William Smart – both won sprint medals at last year's New Zealand Championships.
8.05pm: "The Fastest kid on the Block" The popular event returns brings those that qualified late last year to represent their district in six age group sprints, vying for individual and team awards.
8.10pm: Shot handicap. A mixed field competing on handicap to take the winner take all prize.
8.20pm: Commonwealth Games Javelin Men featuring Palmerston North's Ben Langton-Burnell on his return to Cooks Gardens. The first step to the podium at the Games?
8.30pm: Women's 100m. Two quality heats decided on times with most of our leading women facing the starter. There is local interest with New Zealand School junior Champion Genna Maples running in the second heat.
8.40pm: 1500m Junior Men. The largest field of over 20 runners, including all our leading juniors such as Wanganui Collegiate's NZ Schools Under 16 champion Liam Back.
9pm: 1500m Commonwealth Games trial. 20 leading athletes face the starter chasing Commonwealth Games qualification. A small group of leading juniors join the field chasing the demanding World Junior qualifying mark of 3m 48s. The special atmosphere for mile and the metric mile will be in their favour.
9.10pm: 200m Women. Saturday's event was wind-aided and an electronic malfunction meant that they only received hand times. A small field headed by the in-form Lucy Sheat (Tasman) have a re-run.
All events can be followed with the help of the expert commentary team and the indicator boards allow spectators to follow the action as it develops.
