Speed skating: Strong showing from Whanganui skaters at nationals

The Whanganui team for the NZ Speed Skating Nationals was (back, from left): Gary Clark (coach), Crystal Denbee, Scott Morpeth, Jerome Allen, Drew Brennan, Andrew Jones, Joshua Valentine, Paul Cleeve, Steven Brennan (team manager); (front, from left): Gabriella Valentine, Chase Morpeth, Sophie Liang, Tazia Parker, Keira Brennan, Caleb Valentine. Photo / Johnmen Zhang

Whanganui speed skaters collected a swag of medals and national records at the 2023 NZ Speed Skating Nationals in Palmerston North.

Thirteen skaters represented Whanganui in the 92-strong field of competitors from Auckland to Dunedin. The racing was over distances ranging from 100 metres to 42 kilometres, and held on the 400m Memorial Park road circuit, Arena Manawatū flat track and Manfield motor racing track over the course of the week in January.

It was great to see two international skaters competing in the senior men’s category this year - Josh Whyte of Kāpiti and Kierryn Hughes of Manawatū, both currently residing in Geisingen, Germany, and competing on the European circuit in both inline and ice skating.

Whanganui’s sole Senior skater Andrew Jones came away with four wins, claiming medals in the flat track premier men’s open 10km, the team relay and the mixed team relay, along with the 42km road marathon.

Chase Morpeth, Drew Brennan and Joshua Valentine competed in the Under-19 junior grade.

Chase, fresh from his first world championships in Argentina, won every event, collecting 11 golds, plus two silvers and a bronze, from the eight junior grade distances plus relays. He broke five national records, and his blistering time of 16 minutes and 51.6 seconds in the 10km points race on the road smashed the national record by two minutes and 32.63 seconds. Chase now holds the current national record in all eight of the Under-19 age group distances.

Drew made a welcome return from injury to impress with wins in the senior men’s 5000m road relay, two golds in the flat track relays and a bronze in the open men’s 42km marathon.

Relative newcomer Sophie Liang took out the overall aggregate prize in the cadet girls’ Under-15 grade after battling it out with teammate Gabriella Valentine for placings among the 13-strong grade.

In the juvenile boys’ Under-12 grade, 10-year-old Caleb Valentine also earned the overall aggregate win, with five golds, two silvers and two bronzes.

Whanganui’s only woman in the masters’ category, Crystle Denbee, came home with a silver in the flat track 3000m behind the very strong, ex-world-level Chanelle Wooding, of Timaru.

Jerome Allen - also fresh back from the Argentina World Roller Games, where he competed with the New Zealand men’s roller hockey team - took the lion’s share of medals along with teammate Paul Cleeve, with the men tied for the overall aggregate in the masters’ men’s grade.

Noteworthy was first-year junior Tazia Parker in a strong field, getting two golds, two silvers and a bronze medal. Joshua Valentine and Scott Morpeth gained silver medals in the three-man team relay, and Keira Brennan won gold in the mixed team relay.

Coach Gary Clark was very happy with the way the 13 skaters performed. Whanganui came within seven points of the 17-strong Timaru Club for the Unity Cup for total points from individual results of all skaters over the road and flat track events, even though Whanganui won more golds than the larger Timaru team.

The next event on the 2023 calendar is the NZ Banked Track Champs on February 4-5 in Timaru.