Premier athletics returning to Christchurch in 2019

World Champion shot putter Tom Walsh announced at the Big Shot competition on Friday evening that Christchurch will host the 2019 and 2020 New Zealand Track and Field Championships.

Walsh says hosting the Championships is a fantastic development for the future of athletics in Christchurch and helps showcase the city as a world-class events destination.

"With over 100 years of history, theAthletics New Zealand Track and Field Championships is one of the countrys oldest sporting competitions and Im excited this iconic event is heading back to Christchurch," he says.

Walsh made the announcement on Friday night at Christchurchs annual Big Shot athletics event, organised by the International Track and Field Trust, in preparation for his Commonwealth Games showdown next month.

ChristchurchNZ General Manager of Attraction Linda Falwasser says the 2019 New Zealand Track and Field Championships will be the first major athletics meet at the citys brand-new Ng Puna Wai Sports Hub, attracting New Zealands top athletes for the three-day event. We are thrilled to have been able to attract this iconic major event to Christchurch and secure it for two years.

"These national championships are a great opportunity for the Christchurch community to witness some of the worlds best athletes in action. Its going to be an action-packed event and everyone should come down, share in the excitement and provide some home crowd support for our local athletics talent," Falwasser says.

Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of Athletics NZ, welcomed the development in commenting, "Athletics in Christchurch has been without a permanent home since the earthquake and we are well aware of the pressure that this has put on athletics locally. Canterbury athletics officials have done a fantastic job in promoting athletics competitions over this time and the opening of Ng Puna Wai represents an exciting opportunity to grow the sport."

"We are delighted to bring our flagship event, the New Zealand Track and Field Championships, to Christchurch at the first opportunity. We are very grateful for the support of ChristchurchNZ to allow the event to be hosted in Christchurch and look forward to working with them and the local athletics community to develop athletics around the staging of the event."

"As a South Island boy living in Christchurch, of course Im biased when I say this is the best place for future Track and Field events," Walsh says. "Track and Field has sadly been without a home in Christchurch, where it has such strong community support, so it will be a great opportunity for everyone to get behind our local athletes and celebrate a brand-new state of the art venue at Ng Puna Wai."

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