Athletics: Willis sets sights on Beijing gold

When a 17 year-old lad from the Hutt Valley by the name of Nicholas Ian Willis ran 4m 1.33s for the mile back in January 2001 it revived interest in one of New Zealand's most renowned athletic disciplines. The question began to be asked: Is this the next John Walker, Peter Snell or Jack Lovelock?

Five-and-a-half years later, the answer is starting to unravel. New Zealand sports fans celebrated when he surged to gold in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 1500m, a sight many thought may never again involve an athlete in the black singlet.

With due respect to the solid efforts of Paul Hamblyn and Adrian Blincoe in the same event, Willis has now established himself as New Zealand's big hope on the world middle distance running scene. He's now the man with an outside shot at an Olympic 1500m gold in Beijing in 2008.

Before racing at the 31st Athletissima in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday, Willis had twice run the 1500m in under 3m:33s in six days. He reduced his own New Zealand record to 3m:32.17s. The 23 year-old also moved up the world rankings to 10th after starting the season 23rd. That's the sort of achievement, he says, which drives him towards Beijing, but he knows he must do more.

"I need to be the fittest guy on the 1500m circuit to match the natural ability of the Africans. That means consistently running under 3m:30s."

Willis is targeting the Brussels meet on August 25 to duck under the 3m:32s mark, but that is a minor part of the major plan.

"I see no reason why I can't get under 3m:30s with another year of strength training under my belt," said Willis. Some Africans - like Kenya's Daniel Komen, with 3m:29.02s - consistently push the 3m:30s barrier which was shattered by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj for his world record 3m:26s.

So a major improvement will be needed if Willis is to contest the finish in Beijing.

That in itself would be an incredible achievement. Only Spain's Fermin Cacho (Barcelona in 1992) has interrupted African success in the Olympic 1500m since Kenya's Peter Rono won gold at Seoul in 1988. Since then, Noureddine Morcelli (Atlanta, 1996), Noah Ngeny (Sydney 2000) and El Guerrouj in Athens 2004 have kept the 1500m crown in Africa.

There should also be little notice taken of the comparatively slow times. Kenya's Ngeny has the fastest winning time in an Olympic final - 3m:32.07s - but the final has become a tactical race in successive Olympics and no-one has ever broken the 3m:30s barrier to win.

Tactics are an important part of any race and Willis concedes he has work to do there as well.

"It's tough because people watching say: 'Oh, you should've known when to cover that move in a race', but it's hard to know when to change a race plan against runners who have gone faster than anyone in history."

Sticking to a race plan, much like the approach of one of his athletics heroes, Steve Scott, is a Willis forte. Knowing when to adjust it is tough to gauge, especially at the start.

"I often struggle to get into a good position for the first 100 metres - after that first 'break-in' it's difficult to change positions because you're running at such a fast pace. Sometimes I think I'm all right, especially running the first 100m in 13s, but at the last moment the field swamps me.

"It would require a bit of luck and no injuries to get down into the 3m: 27s-28s pace the Africans are setting - that means getting massages at least five times a week as well as devoting 20 minutes twice a day to ice whirl pools and three or four hours to stretching."

That is one way Willis can try to counter his body's extreme lactic acid build-up during races, after which he often suffers headaches and vomiting.

However, Willis is developing a reputation as the "Western 1500-metre runner", especially in the United States where he has signed with Reebok. Todd Klein, Reebok's Senior Director for Global Athletics explained their reasoning: "We see Nick as the future of the mile and 1500m - a contender to place in the top three in Beijing. I look back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, the days of John Walker, Steve Scott and Steve Ovett - Nick is someone who can match the likes of the Kenyans."

He must also overcome off-track dilemmas, one of the most difficult being the lonesome trek around Europe. He has friends, but few in his own event. In Wednesday's (NZT) Lausanne race not one other runner in the field spoke English as a first language, a far cry from New Zealand's halcyon days on the circuit in the 1970s when John Walker, Dick Quax and Rod Dixon could build off each other.

Quax says compared with his day that makes it tough for Willis, but he has to get out and meet people.

" Rod and John were a great help to me as company and training partners. But sometimes we would hook up with other good mates from Australia or Britain, just for variety."

Willis says the biggest challenge comes in the hotel room, 48 hours before competition.

"You're trying to get your mind away from the event, sleeping as much as possible. I like to take the telly off the wall or hide the remote - I like to think I do something at least half productive on tour, rather than blobbing. So I turn my laptop on, play some music and type whatever comes into my mind. There are probably 20 separate pages of blogging I've done, just on thoughts for the future."

Whatever happens, Willis always has the familiarity of the Hutt.

"I can be away for a year, come back and there'll still be 30-40 people who went to school together playing touch rugby on a Sunday afternoon - that's the sort of camaraderie you're dealing with. Some people make fun of the Hutt, but I love it."

But for now Willis is on a five-week hiatus midway through the European season, travelling to the US for further training as well as dipping his toe into the waters of the speaking circuit - preparing a best man's effort for a mate's wedding.