Medal hopes for javelin thrower

Levin's Benjamin Langton Burnell is New Zealand's only javelin thrower at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. WGP 28Mar18

Levin's Ben Langton Burnell, part of New Zealand's 15-man strong track and field team going to the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast of Australia next week, is hoping favourable conditions will allow him a go at a javelin medal.

Langton Burnell, known as Javmanben, is our only javelin thrower and currently ranks 32nd in the world. He needed a throw of at least 80m to qualify for the Games and made the team with a personal best last year of 82.44m, guaranteeing him a spot.

He says his chances of success on the Gold Coast are much higher than his current world ranking suggests. "I'm in 5th or 6th placing going, mainly because a few Olympic champions aren't going to these games. A medal should be do-able," he says.

Though he lives and trains in Hamilton these days Langton Burnell was born and bred in Horowhenua and still represents his Wanganui-Manawatu club. He attended Fairfield School in Levin and then went to Palmerston North Boys High.

He has been throwing the javelin for the past eight years. He was inspired by Stuart Farquhar, who was silver medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. "I watched him on TV competing at the 2008 Olympic Games and was hooked," he says.

Palmerston North Boys High gave him the chance to train for the javelin. Initially he reached distances of up to 50m but with training and experience he got further and further.

"You just focus on the technique a lot, but growing up I never thought I'd one day be going to the Commonwealth Games," he says.

Langton Burnell holds down a job but also studies at Massey University, having completed a degree in agri-commerce. He is now working on a degree in accounting.

Though he specialises in javelin throwing, during training he does all sorts of other sports from sprinting to jumping, gymnastics to gym work and hurdling. "Your whole body needs to be in tune to achieve a good throw," he says.

He competed at the World Championships in London last year in a stadium with enough seats for 80,000 people. "The Commonwealth Games' stadium is much smaller. It's a big thing going to the Commonwealth Games, but I try not to get too nervous about it. It will be my first big multisport event though."

Standards for the Games are very high, he says, especially in athletics. "For example the 100m sprint means you need to be able to run 12-15m ahead of any All Black going for the try-line, you need to do it in 10.1 secs.

"That is blisteringly fast. In athletics there are so many people competing that qualifying is quite hard."

Ben Langton Burnell is competing at the Commonwealth Games on April 13 and 14.