Athletics: Arnott's consistency earns Games place

Auckland 400m runner Jane Arnott has been included in the New Zealand team to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester - even though she has not met the qualifying standard.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee yesterday confirmed Arnott as the 16th member of the team.

She had been omitted because she had not achieved the qualifying time of 52.30s.

However, NZOC secretary-general Barry Maister said that after further discussions, her time of 52.40s in difficult conditions at the national championships in Auckland in March was deemed good enough.

"Jane has come very close to qualifying on a few occasions and, bearing in mind the conditions in Auckland were not conducive to fast times, we believe she is deserving of a chance in Manchester," Maister said.

Athletics New Zealand competitions manager Tony Rogers was pleased with Arnott's late inclusion.

"The selection panel has accepted that her performance at the national championships was equivalent to the target time, given the conditions," he said.

"They also acknowledged that she had been a consistent performer."

Arnott is the No 1 runner in Australia and New Zealand over 400m.

A number of other athletes are close to the qualifying standard for Manchester and several - including sprinters Chris Donaldson and Dallas Roberts - will be heading to Europe and North America in coming weeks in an attempt to achieve qualification.

- NZPA