Medals for 16 Whanganui athletes at NZ Track & Field Champs

Liam Back completed the 800m and 1500m double with two Under 18 gold medals at the New Zealand Track & Field Championships in Christchurch at the weekend.

Of the 19 Whanganui athletes who headed south, 16 of them came back with either individual or team medals from the New Zealand Track & Field Championships in Christchurch at the weekend.

Held at the new Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub in Wigram, the championships were a triumph for the five gold medallists in Liam Back, Sophie Williams, Genna Maples, Emma Osborne and Lucas Martin.

Back claimed the 800m and 1500m double at Under 18 Men's level, while Williams' time of 11.86s to win the U18 Women's 100m was the second fastest for any female age group at the Hub.

Maples' Under 18 Women's long jump victory with 5.93m was enough to reach No 4 in the national women's rankings, while Martin took 48s off his personal best in winning the Under 20 Men's Walk in 14m 3s.

Osborne claimed gold in the Under 18 Women's 400m, a distance where the local contingent had to overcome an injury crisis when it came time for the team relays.

Alec McNab said the 4x400m Under 18 team had hoped to defend their title, but with several runners out, they had to add an older girl and move up to the Under 20 race, despite two members of the remaining squad being 14 and 15-years-old respectively.

"It's like Steve Hansen losing seven All Blacks."

Sophie Redmayne joined Maples, Williams, and Ana Brabyn to nonetheless win the silver against predominantly older girls.

There was another Women's Relay silver for Osborne, Williams, Maples and Tayla Brunger, along with an Under 20 Men's 4x400m Relay silver from Joseph Sinclair, Travis Bayler, Connor Munro and Jonathan Maples.

Continuing her great championships, Genna Maples won silver in both the Under 18 Women's 100m and 200m, while Ashleigh Alabaster earned silver in the 200m Steeplechase.

Redmayne also won bronze in the Under 20 Women's 400m hurdles, while George Lambert claimed bronze in the Under 18 Men's 2000m Steeplechase.

Munro, Bayler, and Jonathan Maples were part of a composite team that took bronze in the Senior Men's 4x100m Relay.

McNab will have further details in his Athletics Insight column this week.