Athletics: Tauranga duo on Games path

Tauranga sprinters Kodi Harman (left) and Joseph Millar (right) fought out the men's 100 metres final. Photo/Andrew Warner

There is no more exhilarating sight to watch live at an athletics meeting than the 100 metres sprint.

Certainly the sight of New Zealand's two fastest men hurtling down the track in the final of the men's senior final was the highlight of the opening day of the Waikato/BOP Championships held at the Tauranga Domain on Saturday.

Although neither Joseph Millar nor Kodi Harman ran close to their personal-best times, it was still an impressive performance from the Tauranga Ramblers' sprinters as both are getting over niggling injuries.

The 100m final attracted a top-class field with Dalton Coppins (Auckland City Athletics) and Michael Gutry (Hamilton City Hawkes) expected to push the two Papamoa flyers hard.

The start, though, was full of drama and controversy. Two bungled false starts left Coppins and Tauranga Ramblers' Michael Goldie with red cards. That led to fairly animated and extended protests from Coppins, which further delayed the start.

Once the race was under way, both runners ran under protest, but it was Millar who was quickly into his stride and he led Harman all the way down the straight to the tape. Millar ran with a bandaged knee, courtesy of a strain he picked up in a relay race at the track on New Year's Day, and was happy with his race. "Today's run seemed pretty good, especially out of the blocks," he said.

"The starts and the acceleration phase have gone really good, really smooth. I feel I can pull away but I still need to work on my top speed. My endurance seems to be there but need to bump that speed up now so that when I get in front I can continue to move away."

Millar says his dream of making the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow for the individual sprints and team relay is still alive.

"We are going to Sydney in three weeks to have a crack over there. The Sydney track is quite fast and it will be a high-pressure situation, but in a relay situation anything can happen.

"I know we can do it if we all pull together on the right day and we will definitely have more than enough competition over there to get it done."

Harman is travelling to Sydney with Millar and both are key members of the New Zealand 4x100 metre relay team hoping to qualify for Glasgow.

"I am slowly getting there but the hardest thing is staying injury free in this sport," Harman said.

"The last couple of weeks, to be honest, have not been going well for me. This was my first race back and I feel a lot better. Joe [Millar] is obviously really good to gauge off as he is the best there is here. I know if I am getting close to him I am doing all right.

"It is still early days as there are six to seven weeks before nationals."