Attwell claims decathlon title

HEADING SOUTH: Alec McNab (left) says goodbye to new NZ Junior Decathlon champion Max Attwell as the youngster heads to Canterbury University. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

THERE is something special about decathlon competitions. There is genuine camaraderie and a spirit of supporting fellow athletes, even though locked in serious competition over 10 events over two days. Last weekend's Athletic New Zealand combined events in Hamilton proved to be no exception.

It is not surprising that entry numbers are never large, as it takes a special athlete to be able to compete in 10 very different disciplines over two days and only a few can master the range of events, not to mention the technical complexities of pole vault , 110m hurdles and javelin.

Wanganui's Max Attwell, who competed in only his third decathlon won the NZ Junior title (under-20). Fortune was on his side as the strongest junior, Aaron Booth, opted to compete at senior level in a successful bid to get a B qualifier for the World University Games.

Attwell also was fortunate the last year's youth winner Alex Mander fell badly in the pole vault warm up and battled on clearly in great pain. When it came to the last event " the 1500m " Attwell knew that to win he had to beat Mander by 17 seconds. This was achieved by a wide margin as Mander finished clearly in pain a minute in arrears.

The title was in no way a hollow win, as Attwell surpassed his best by 800 points gained when taking the silver medal a year ago. In the process he set four personal bests. He surpassed his best long jump by 8cm, his hurdles by 0.3 seconds, his discus by 1m and his pole vault by an impressive 25cm.

The final events were a fine example of genuine sportsmanship as the small field willed Mander on in his three events after injury in the vault, which is his best event and it took a special type of courage to continue after a serious warm up fall.

Attwell chose a good time to produce the substantial best, narrowing the gap on the leader board. Mander responded with a better Javelin throw than Attwell off a short run up, setting the scene for the final 1500m.

Mander had to settle for a brave silver, winning the respect of all the competitors and the small, knowledgeable crowd. Attwell also demonstrated that he is an athlete with an exciting future. His 6216 gained an entry standard for a major decathlon in California, where he will be on an Track and Field Tour.

Attwell is now at university in Canterbury and will be coached by former NZ representative and high performance coach Terry Lomax, assisted by Peter Henry.

I look forward to catching up with Attwell on the USA Tour, when I will be accompanying the tour group.

Geordie Beamish and Josh Ledger, both teammates of Attwell and Collegiate school leavers from last year, were in action on Tuesday at Cooks Gardens. They ran in the feature 800m at the second week of the Manawatu/Wanganui Championships. The race was important for both as they prepare for New Zealand Championships on March 6-8 in Wellington. Beamish will be seeking to retain his junior 1500m championship won last year. Ledger, who won the youth 400m last year, steps up a distance to run the 800m.

Scott Burch (Palmerston North) who, earlier in the evening, won the 200m did a splendid job as pacemaker, taking them through in the specified 54 seconds, holding it through another 100m leaving Beamish and Ledger to battle over the remaining 300m.

Ledger went early, taking the lead 200m out. He held the small advantage through to the tape, recording a hand timed personal best of 1 minute 53.3 seconds to Beamish's 1 minute 53.5 for an encouraging under distance personal best. Christian Conder featured last week, broke 2 minutes for the first time in 1 minute 58.6 seconds.

The only disappointment was a camera malfunction. Fortunately there were hand times available and both athletes have the benefit of confirmation of form.