Athletics: Team for Hungary named

Athletics New Zealand yesterday named a 12-strong team to compete at the under-18 world youth championships in Hungary in July.

Convener of selectors Dave Norris expected the athletes to form the core of the New Zealand team to compete at the 2002 championships in Jamaica.

Another seven athletes, who are on the brink of meeting qualification standards, will train with the squad in the expectation that they will also qualify before the championships are held in Debrecen between July 11 and July 16.

"We are enormously excited by this team," Norris said. "We threw out a fairly tough challenge to our young athletes by making selection standards significantly harder than the International Amateur Athletic Federation's, and we are impressed that 12 have met them."

The only question mark is over Brent Newdick who has qualified for the octathlon but the IAAF has yet to decide whether the event will be included.

The octathlon is effectively a decathlon without the discus and polevault. The 1500m has also been downgraded, to 1000m.

Valerie Adams (Auckland) shot, discus, hammer; April Brough (Auckland) 100m, 200m relay; Sarah Cowley (Bay of Plenty) 100m, high jump, 100m hurdles, relay; Louise Jones (Auckland) 200m, relay; Rebecca McEnaney (North Harbour) 800m, Brent Newdick (octathlon, subject to IAAF entry), Elizabeth Orchard (Auckland) 1500m; Anna Spriggins (Wanganui) 400m, relay; Max Smith (Otago) 1500m; Michael Stringer (North Harbour) 800m; Hayden Townsend (Palmerston North) 100m, 200m; Monique Williams (Bay of Plenty) 400m, 800m, relay.

Supplementary squad:

Erin Montgomery (North Harbour) 800m; Michelle Anderson (North Harbour) 100m, 200m, relay; Rowan Baird (Waikato) 3000m; Eugene Beneke (Auckland) shot put; Bradley Barron (Waikato) 2km steeplechase; Nick Shanks (North Harbour) javelin; Anthony Smart (North Harbour) long jump, 100m 110m hurdles; Jeffrey Thumath (Auckland) long jump, 100m, 200m.

- NZPA