Athletics: Bunce squeaks home

By Murray McKinnon

Alan Bunce followed up his North Harbour cross country running victory last week with a narrow win over Richard Potts in the North Island championship in Taupo on Saturday.

After almost 9000m of close racing around the Spa Thermal Park the title was decided in a tight sprint finish between Bays Cougars Bunce and Potts from Hastings.

With no photo finish to call on, the win was given, by the narrowest of margins, to Bunce. Both were credited with a time of 27m 55s, just under a minute slower than Jonathan Wyatt's 1994 race record.

Potts, winner in 1991 and in 1997, said he thought he had the race won with 30 metres to go.

"I'm happy with that. I'm after a good winter so I can prove it on the track next summer and give the Olympic Games a crack," said Potts.

Melissa Moon of Scottish Harriers, Wellington, continued her outstanding record over country, chalking up her sixth straight win in the women's 5000m to add to her New Zealand mountain running titles and her victories in the New Zealand cross country championship for the past four years.

Moon had her work cut out to beat an equally determined Wellington athlete, Gabrielle O'Rourke. Using her mountain running ability to advantage, Moon worked the hills well on the second lap to lead in O'Rourke by 5s in 17m 38s.

Former English cross country representative Davina Manship-Jones of Palmerston North was third in 18m 6s.

Fifty-year-old John Campbell outclassed the combined 40 and 50-year-old veterans' 6000m in running 20m 3s, which would have placed him third in the mens' under-20 race. This event ended up a sprint finish between Paul Hamblyn and Jamie Voss, Hamblyn winning in 20m 1s.