Athletics: NZ likely to have tiny athletics team

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Athletics New Zealand high-performance director Steve Hollings is not holding his breath in the hope that someone will charge from left-field into Olympic contention at this weekend's national championships in Christchurch.

So far only Toni Hodgkinson (800m/1500m), Beatrice Faumuina (discus), Chris Donaldson (100m) and Craig Barrett (50km walk) have met Olympic targets.

Unless there is a late rush, New Zealand could have its smallest track and field Olympic team since four athletes went to Helsinki in 1952 and returned with gold and bronze medals.

The smallest team since was in 1988, when six athletes competed in Seoul for a no-medal return but with three in the top 16 of their events.

New Zealand's last athletics medal was the bronze won in 1992 in Barcelona by marathon runner Lorraine Moller. Before that the sport has to look back to 1976, when John Walker won gold and Dick Quax silver in the Montreal 1500m.

"I had always thought we would have between seven and nine athletes in Sydney," Hollings said. "We might be struggling to get to nine but I hope we go close.

"The nationals are normally more about winning titles than attempting target standards, but this year they are important because the Australian titles - which are normally held after our championships and give a chance to chase qualifying marks - have already been held."

New Zealanders will, however, have a late chance to press their claims.

They are the only "outsiders" being allowed to compete in the Australian trials in mid-August, but Hollings fears athletes who do not reach the standards until then will have done their best work in qualifying and could struggle at the Olympics.

But he does not go along with claims that the sport, if not dead in New Zealand, is dying.

"I believe we have the raw material but are being left well behind through the lack of resources," he said. "We are light years behind other countries in both facilities, expertise and manpower needed to keep pace with the rest of the world.

"At under-20 level, as an example, we are much closer to the Australians than at senior level."

Hodgkinson, eighth in the 800m in Atlanta four years ago, was our best-performed athlete ahead of long jumper Chantel Brunner (9th), Anne Hare (13th in the 5000m) and Jonathan Wyatt (16th in the 5000m).

Brunner has yet to qualify for Sydney and will miss the nationals through injury. Shaun Farrell (800m), Ian Winchester (discus) and Tasha Williams (hammer) are, however, other Olympic contenders who will be in action at QEII Stadium this weekend.

If there is to be a longshot, it could come in the men's 800m, where Mark Rodgers has run consistently within one second of the 1m 46.30s target.

Hodgkinson will run the middledistance double, defending her 800m title and chasing another 1500m crown.

"I would like to win both," she said, "and win them quite well. I have done a lot of training so I was pleased to do the 1500m time in Australia, but not surprised."

While the Olympic programme would allow her to run in both events in Sydney, her coach, John Davies, still sees the shorter distance as her stronger event.

The championships start this afternoon, with most first-session interest in the men's and women's 5000m.

Faumuina will defend her discus title tomorrow afternoon.

Donaldson will run the sprint double, with the 100m tomorrow and 200m on Sunday.