KEY POINTS:
Veteran Beatrice Faumuina is one of a handful of athletes throwing their Olympic qualifying hopes on the line in Auckland from tomorrow.
The three-day national athletics championships at Mt Smart Stadium provide the final chance for those who have yet to reach standards for the Beijing Games and some, such as discus queen Faumuina, who have.
She is among 10 athletes to have met A-standard targets, indicating they have top-16 Olympic capability.
Also in that group are New Zealand's premier trio of athletes - shot put world champion Valerie Vili, distance runner Kimberley Smith and Commonwealth Games 1500m champion Nick Willis - who will add a world class touch this weekend.
While they are guaranteed tickets to Beijing, the likes of Faumuina must still be classified as a fringe contenders.
The 33-year-old has beaten the A-standard of 61m just once and it was more than a year ago.
Athletics NZ (ANZ) convener of selectors John Bowden said her 62.2m effort at Christchurch in February last year - just after the 15-month Beijing qualifying window opened - may not be enough on its own in the eyes of ANZ and New Zealand Olympic Committee selectors.
"Obviously there's a little bit more pressure on Beatrice," Bowden said.
"It's her opportunity to impress all of the selectors.
"That's part of our policy in line with the NZOC policy. We want people to attend the national championships so they can be seen to be able to compete with pressure at a major meet."
Faumuina, who competes on Saturday night, has struggled in recent years to reach her 1997 world championship achievement.
She has competed at every Olympic and Commonwealth Games since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 but couldn't claim a third successive Commonwealth gold medal at Melbourne in 2006, missing the podium completely.
The first night of finals tomorrow will be a highlight, with Vili's competition beginning as Smith contests the 5000m.
United States-based Smith has had a brilliant 12 months, setting national records over 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m last year, and in the indoor mile at Boston last month.
She was fifth over 10,000m at last August's world championships and will compete in that event only at Beijing, even though she has qualified in the 5000m.
Willis will contest the 1500m on Sunday afternoon, coming off the disappointment of his disqualification in the indoor world championship final this month in Valencia.
Bowden said the presence of Vili, Smith and Willis was an enormous plus on several counts.
This meet was put back a month to allow the "big three" to compete at Valencia and then return home.
"It's great for our other athletes to test themselves against them, especially because we don't see Kimberley and Nick here often," he said.
There are a small group this weekend who have hovered around the Olympic B-standard this summer but need to eke out more to reach the world's biggest sporting stage.
They include consistent 200m and 400m runner Monique Williams and 100m hurdler Andrea miller, who recently set a New Zealand resident record of 13.13 seconds. She still needs to go 0.17sec quicker.
James Mortimer is considered an outside shot in the 110m hurdles.
The athletics team for Beijing will be named on April 16 but there could be some late editions.
The marathon deadline is April 27, allowing four candidates to contest races next month - Jonathan Wyatt in Zurich, Scott Winton in Hamburg and Phil Costley and Jessica Ruthe in London.
Also, six injured athletes have been granted a qualifying extension until June 30.
Among them are 3000m steeplechaser Kate McIlroy, 1500m Paul Hamblyn and decathlete Brent Newdick, who is competing this weekend after returning from a jaw injury.
Newdick reached the A-standard last June but it was ruled out because of tailwinds.
This weekend is also the last qualifying opportunity for the world junior championships at Poland in July.
Seven have already qualified.
New Zealand athletes to have achieved A-standard Olympic qualifying targets:
Men:
200m: James Dolphin
1500m: Nick Willis
5000m: Adrian Blincoe
Marathon: Michael Aish.
Javelin: Stuart Farquhar
Women:
10,000m: Kimberley Smith
Marathon: Liza Hunter-Galvan, Nina Rillstone
Shot put: Valerie Vili
Discus: Beatrice Faumuina
- NZPA
