Athletics: Blincoe gets final spot

New Zealand's elite will hit the ground running at the world championships in Helsinki next month buoyed by some top performances.

Athletics New Zealand yesterday named its squad for the world track and field championships from August 6-14, with a host of athletes striking a rich vein of form heading into the climax of the international athletics calendar.

US-based runner Adrian Blincoe was the final addition to the 14-strong squad after confirmation yesterday that he would compete in the 1500m alongside national recordholder Nick Willis.

With Kimberley Smith breaking Nyla Carroll's long-standing 5000m national record in Stockholm on Wednesday in 15m 05.68s, and Valerie Vili carving tracts off her New Zealand shot put record, Athletics NZ performance director Eric Hollingsworth said most of the squad were taking form into Helsinki.

"The key difference between previous New Zealand teams and this one is the form they're in right now. We're talking about athletes with under two weeks to go who are in prime form," Hollingsworth said.

Willis, ranked ninth in the world over 1500m, recently broke John Walker's 29-year-old record when he ran 3m 32.38s in Paris.

- NZPA