Athletics: Smith breaks NZ 5000m record

Kimberley Smith broke her second New Zealand athletics record in three months today, lopping nearly four seconds off Nyla Carroll's 5000m mark in Stockholm.

Smith ran 15 minutes 5.68 seconds to finish sixth at the IAAF Super Grand Prix meet, just over 5sec behind Kenyan winner Irene Kipchumba.

Former King's College student Smith's time comfortably beat Carroll's national record of 15min 9.32sec, set in Christchurch in 1996.

It confirmed Smith, 23, was in peak form for next month's world championships in Helsinki, having already smashed Carroll's national 10,000m record in May.

Athletics New Zealand performance manager Eric Hollingsworth hailed it as a "great performance" and said Smith's next target was breaking the 15 minute mark.

"If she can get under 15min that will put her in the upper echelon of world athletes," Hollingsworth said.

Meanwhile, Adrian Blincoe completed an encouraging day for New Zealand athletes in Stockholm by qualifying for the world championships.

Blincoe ran a personal best 3min 35.65sec for sixth place in the 1500m to dip under the A qualifying time in a race won by Ivan Heshko of the Ukraine in 3min 33.18sec.

Hollingsworth had to apply for Blincoe's late entry to the world championships today, and was awaiting confirmation overnight.

Blincoe had come close to qualifying at the weekend, missing by 0.13sec in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.

The United States-based Aucklander was second in 3min 36.33sec at the KBC Night of Athletics meeting, a personal best he wiped out today.

With Olympian Nick Willis already selected for the 1500m, Blincoe had to secure an A qualifying time to gain a berth in Helsinki.

Willis recently broke former Olympic gold medallist John Walker's 29-year-old New Zealand 1500m record, when he ran 3min 32.38sec in Paris.

- NZPA