Eliza McCartney to kick of Games campaign in Hastings

The Potts Classic meeting has received a boost with the news that Olympic Pole Vault bronze medallist Eliza McCartney will be starting in the pole vault competition at the meeting this Saturday at the Hawkes Bay Regional Sports Park.

The competition will form part of the build-up for McCartney towards the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.

Athletics New Zealands High Performance Director Scott Goodman, in announcing the star athlete would compete in Hastings , added that the outing will be McCartneys first competition since the London World Championships in August 2017, so there are no expectations of great heights.

"Eliza has been through a carefully managed rehabilitation programme after achilles tendon problems in 2017, and Eliza, along with her coach Jeremy McColl have decided that she is ready to compete", said Goodman.

Athletics NZ High Performance Pole Vault coach Jeremy McColls squad has been training in the Hawkes Bay for the past week and the Potts Classic Pole Vault, doubling as the official Commonwealth Games selection trial will conclude the camp.

Games trials for a number of other events will be taking place at the Potts Classic. Mens and womens 100m, womens 400m and 800m, along with the mens 5000m will provide final opportunities for athletes to impress the selectors on the track.

Field event trials will be the mens and womens shot put, mens long jump and womens hammer, along with the mens and womens pole vault.

World shot put Champion Tom Walsh will be in action, along with over 30 other New Zealand representatives in what will be the highest quality fields assembled in the Bay for a number of years.

The meeting gets under way for field events at 1:00pm with the hammer. Tracks events start at 5.20pm and the programme will conclude at 7.40pm.

The New Zealand athletics team for the Commonwealth Games will be announced on Friday 2 February.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Athletics New Zealand