Athletics: Better talent luring needed to end mens' medal drought

Nick Willis. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Dear reader, your Mastermind topic is "the last sporting frontiers for New Zealanders to conquer" and your time starts ... now.

Who was the last New Zealand man to earn a track and field world championship medal since the advent of the meet in 1983?

Pass? You're almost correct there [cue buzzer]. Well, I've started so I'll finish ...

Thirty years have passed and no bloke in a tracksuit emblazoned with a silver fern has appeared on a world championships podium. Nick Willis took silver in the 1500m at the Olympics (unquestionably a greater achievement) but no one has mastered this meet.

Kiwi women have taken five gold (Beatrice Faumuina in 1997 and Val Adams every championships since 2007). Adams also has a bronze from 2005.

Judging by the performances of Willis and javelin thrower Stuart Farquhar so far in Moscow, this anomaly is unlikely to change. Farquhar has done himself credit making another final and this morning Willis was to race the semifinals of the 1500m after struggling through the heats on the back of an injury-plagued season. It is unrealistic to expect podium glory.

Where does New Zealand go to correct this discrepancy in the male system? Throwing looks the answer.

Jacko Gill is the most promising prospect but, as in most sport, titles and records at junior levels don't necessarily translate to the business end. Gill's fulltime graduation to the senior 7.26kg shot from his current 6kg version, presumably next year, will be a fascinating case study.

Putting Gill's freakish talent aside, the obvious place to start is New Zealand's Polynesian community.

Where is the male version of Val? Probably playing rugby or league where greater fortune and prestige are accessible straight out of school.

This is the trick for Athletics New Zealand to master in coming years. It needs to somehow create a persuasive pitch that locks a handful of talented individuals into pursuing such glory.

As for the New Zealand performances at Moscow, they mirror the efforts of the previous world championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Adams' fourth consecutive gold is the highlight. She remains the core reason track and field is guaranteed $7.6 million of government funding via High Performance Sport NZ this Olympic cycle, a $900,000 rise on the previous four years.