Tauranga hurdler Michael Cochrane has won a big race at the Perth Classic meeting overnight and has broken the New Zealand record for the 400m hurdles in the process.
Cochrane lowered the record to an impressive 49.72secs, 0.18sec under the previous record of 49.90 set by another Waikato Bay of Plenty athlete Nic O'Brien in 2003.
Cochrane had entered the Perth meeting to race against legendary reigning London Olympic champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic. Thirty-six-year old Sanchez also has a second Olympic title to his name from 2004 and two world championship titles.
Not only did Cochrane get to race against his hero, he soundly beat the star, along with the best Australia had to offer.
The newly married 22-year-old part-time teacher, now living in Auckland, was also agonisingly close to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games B qualifying standard of 49.70. Cochrane will now have the confidence to attack that time and further lower his record.
