A nagging calf injury and the birth of his first child, a son, mean veteran 1500m runner Nick Willis will miss a meet this morning that has become a staple in his calendar.
The International Association of Athletics Federations' Paris meet, first as a Golden League and now as a Diamond League fixture, has brought Willis a couple of his fondest track memories. He broke Sir John Walker's 30-year-old New Zealand 1500m record there in 2005, setting a time of 3m 32.38s. He chopped that to 3m 32.17s the following year.
This time he and wife Sierra have been on baby watch at home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The birth pool has been tested in the living room and the arrival's room has been painted.
As a keen cricket fan, he has also followed New Zealand's progress closely on the England tour. A YouTube video even shows him rolling a couple of useful off spinners down his driveway while an enthusiastic family pooch does the fielding. In a piece to camera, a lonely Willis says: "Sun's out. There's no one in America to play cricket with, so you've got to improvise."
He's also mastering his golf game after entering October's speed golf world championships in Oregon with friend and former 1500m world champion Bernard Lagat.
