SPEED is a key ingredient in most sports and as I have mentioned in previous articles speed in is purest form is most clearly defined on the athletic track - especially in the 100 metres outdoors and 60m indoors.
In Jared Smith's excellent article on the progress of former Wanganui City College student Waiaske Nahola towards rugby stardom he did not mention his background as a sprinter. In the 2008 New Zealand Schools senior boys 100m in Hamilton Nahola finished 5th in 11.23s in a strong field. The lure of playing high level rugby was always going to be the path Nahola would follow but the speed gained in track and field has been a core ingredient of his success. It is pleasing to see those responsible for his conditioning have retained and enhanced this key ingredient. There have been other sprinters who have neglected this asset in their rugby careers and have clearly lost speed.
Even distance runners on the track need speed and it is this that often decides the final stages of both 5000m and 10,000m races. Many runners in the longer distance races have moved towards these races because they know they have lacked speed for the shorter events. Many have ended up as marathon runners for the same reason. Speed in the end will always be a key factor. Mo Farrah's final Olympic lap in the 10,000m was 54s. Farah appears on the sub 4m mile honours list at Cooks Gardens and has progressed to be one of the world's greatest 5000 and 10,000m runners - leg speed has been a factor in this success.
Closer to home both Hugo and Geordie Bramish, who won New Zealand Schools 3000m titles, also ran fast legs in medal winning 4 x 400m relay teams. Geordie, who takes up a USA Athletic Scholarship in Arizona in August, was in the winning Collegiate 4 x 400 team at Cooks Gardens in December last year.
Last week I reported on successes at the New Zealand Schools Cross Country. The Year 9 girls in particular set a piece of collegiate history by being the first to win both the 3 and 6 to score events at Year 9 level. Three years ago the Year 9 group secured the six to score a title and silver in the 3 to score and in 2008 the three to score team took the gold medal. The athletes went on to achieve success as they moved up the school. In 2009 the group won selection for the ISF World Schools Cross Country in the Slovak Republic in 2010. That team distinguished themselves by finishing 4th in the world event and returned to New Zealand to win the Senior Girls title. The athletes who won the six to score event in Auckland three years ago formed the core of the teams that finished second in both the six and three to score events in Dunedin a fortnight ago. They have one year left to achieve a top placing in the senior teams next year.