Athletics: Joy takes honours for record steeplechase

By MURRAY McKINNON

North Shore's Leonora Joy provided the highlight of the national athletic league meeting at Massey Park, Papakura, by setting a New Zealand under-20 record for the 2000m steeplechase.

In a relatively new event on the women's programme, Joy, 19, powered through the rain on Saturday night, clocking 6m 57.73s to cut nearly six seconds off the record Nelson's Jane Nalder set in March at the national championships held in Hastings.

Ian Winchester, four-times national discus and five-times national shot put champion, had his last competition in New Zealand for some time, winning the shot put with 14.99m and clearing 38.55m with the hammer throw.

The 28-year-old Aucklander leaves in two weeks to take a business course at Georgia Southern University in the US. "It is a chance to further my academics and benefit my sporting goals.

"The Commonwealth Games are a priority, and being based in the US will enable me to compete more often with athletes of a higher calibre, which should put me in good stead for the Games," Winchester said.

Chantal Brunner cleared 6.03m in her opening long jump of the season, while Jane Arnott captured the 100m-200m sprint double.

Counties Manukau won the senior competition and qualified along with Bays Cougars and Waikato-Bay of Plenty for the final of the league on March 30.

Bays won the junior competition.