Rotorua runner Hannah Gapes claims gold at New Zealand Track and Field Championships

Rotorua's Hannah Gapes leads the way in the under-20 5000m race at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships. Photo / Alisha Lovrich

Rotorua's teenage running sensation Hannah Gapes has proven her speed and athleticism again with an impressive showing at the New Zealand track and Field Championships.

The 17-year-old, a John Paul College student and Lake City Athletic Club member, claimed the gold in the under-20 5000m race with an impressive win and personal best time of 16m 47s.

She then went on to take bronze in the hotly contested 1500m the following day at the event held in Hawke's Bay last weekend.

It is the continuation of a run of success for Gapes, who has consistently improved her personal best times in the middle distance events.

She won the Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools 3000m and 1500m in the lead-up to nationals, breaking both records in the process.

"I was pleased to be able to compete at nationals as it was postponed for a few weeks due to Covid," she said.

"It was a great weekend of racing in the Hawke's Bay. As an under-20 athlete, I now move from racing the 3000m track to 5000m which is a distance I really enjoy.

"I have been training specifically for this race and it was my second time I have raced the 5000m on the track and to come away with a great time and a gold medal was very exciting."

Gapes will have one last track event at the North Island Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships in Hamilton, before taking a break ahead of the winter season of cross-country and road racing in Hawera, Dunedin and Hamilton, where she will defend her national titles.