Whanganui’s Cooks Classic joins World Athletics Continental Tour as bronze event

Whanganui's Cooks Classic has been added to the World Athletics Continental Tour as a bronze event. Photo / Nat Kirk

Whanganui’s Cooks International Classic has been upgraded to a full World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze-level meet, bringing more money, viewers and athletes to the event.

The World Athletics Continental Tour is an athletics event series, the second tier of international one-day meetings behind the Diamond League, with meets across the globe.

The World Athletics Continental Tour was established in 2020, replacing the IAAF World Challenge series.

The events included in the series are placed in four categories, Challenger, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, based on the quality of competition and prize money on offer.

The Pak’nSave Cooks International Classic completes the “summer circuit”, joining the Allan and Sylvia Potts Classic in Hastings, the Sir Graeme Douglas International and New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Auckland, and the International Track Meet in Christchurch.

“The mile will continue to be our signature events for the classic,” meet director and Sports Heritage Trust founder Russell Sears said.

“By moving to a complete Bronze meeting, we will be able to showcase another 12 events, offering opportunities for more New Zealand athletes to compete against world-class athletes.”

The mile is the signature event because Cooks Gardens is known as the “home of the mile” - Sir Peter Snell broke the mile world record in 1962 at the venue.

Since then, the under-four-minute mile has been achieved 79 times at the track.

As a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Event, the Cooks International Classic brings the opportunity for athletes to earn world-ranking points at the Bronze level (C).

Its inclusion will also bring more prize money, more participation from international athletes, and more eyes on the event.

This year’s Cook Classic attracted the biggest crowd in more than a decade, with high jumper Hamish Kerr competing on home soil for the first time since winning an Olympic gold medal.

The Cooks Gardens venue is a drawcard in itself, receiving a World Athletics Heritage Plaque as a landmark. Its quality was maintained last year with resurfacing works.

“We are thrilled that our iconic venue, Cooks Gardens, is to host a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze event not just for 2026 but also for 2027 and 2028,” Sears said.

“We are grateful for the Whanganui District Council who, in 2024, had the track resurfaced and recertified by World Athletics to enable us to continue to host these types of events in Whanganui.”