Athletics: Shot putter crowned best of the best

Valerie Vili had a great year. Picture / Paul Estcourt

The honours keep coming for New Zealand's top athlete.

No surprise that Athletics New Zealand has named Valerie Vili the athlete of the year after her stunning rise as one of the world's greatest shot putting hopes.

Ranked second in the world and with a bronze medal from last year's World Championships, Vili heads into March's Melbourne Commonwealth Games as New Zealand's hottest track and field medal hope and nearly certain to go one better than the silver she won in Manchester four years ago.

"The athlete of the year has to be just that," said Athletics New Zealand performance manager Eric Hollingsworth.

"There were other worthy contenders, including world mountain running champions Kate McIlroy and Jonathan Wyatt and Beatrice Faumuina, but in the end, Vili forced the judges' hands with her outstanding performances."

Vili was also named thrower of the year on Saturday night in Christchurch. Vili's coach Kirsten Hellier took coach of the year in a strong field, which included John Bowden and Debbie Strange.

National sprint double champion James Dolphin was named sprinter of the year and James Mortimer hurdler of the year.

Decathlete Jordan Vandermade and long jumper Jessica Penney took the junior athlete of the year awards.

US-based Kimberly Smith headed McIlroy for the female distance honours following her win in the NZAA cross-country championships and her gold medal run at the World Student Games.

Nick Willis, also based in the US, is the male distance runner of the year.

Mortimer is among a 23-strong New Zealand contingent being sent to Australia for this week's national championships.

He, 400m hurdler Nick O'Brien, 10,000m runner Jess Ruthe and sprinter Carl Van der Speck are being given last-ditch opportunities to join the 28 athletes (including six in an expanded men's 4x100m relay squad) to have bettered Commonwealth Games qualifying standards.

"We have also added sprinter Dallas Roberts to give him one last chance to force his way into the relay squad," said Hollingsworth, who maintains this is no free trip for those who might think they have a chance of qualifying. There is, as an example, no place for current Commonwealth Games silver medallist Phil Jensen.

In winning the hammer throw at the national championships, Jensen was still about 3m short of the required standard. "That did not convince me he has a realistic chance of making it," said Hollingsworth.

"If he wants to make another attempt, he will have to fund his own trip to Australia."

There will be a large contingent of already-qualified athletes crossing the Tasman to join Hollingsworth, who flew over yesterday.

"They don't get a lot of opportunities to compete internationally so it is important when these chances are available, we take them," said Hollingsworth.

The Australian championships are the last chance to impress the selectors, who will sit down next week to make their final selections.

Hollingsworth was not too concerned that only a handful of athletes were close to their qualifying marks at the national championships.

"The athletes we expected to be close were," he said.

"The rest showed us enough to suggest they will be ready for the Games."