Alec McNab: Whanganui Cooks Gardens remains the home of the mile

The women's mile at the Cooks Classic was run in quick time. Photo / Johnsy's Photography

Cooks Gardens as “the home of the mile” truly lived up to its branding with four more men running the classic distance in under 4 minutes and three women achieving the female equivalent at the Cooks Classic on the weekend.

The heavy rain, which had soaked volunteers setting up earlier in the day, returned for the final hour although thankfully, there was little wind and it remained mild. The weather did not deter athletes or dishearten those in the grandstand.

The visiting well-performed Australian women Georgia Griffith and Sarah Billings took visitor’s medals in the New Zealand championship mile with Griffith winning in 4:30.27 and Billings in second in 4:32.30; both times were inside the meeting record. Rebekah Greene was only 0.6 seconds behind to be third across the line to take the New Zealand title and broke the New Zealand resident record set by Anne Audain four decades ago.

Greene’s performance was almost 6 seconds inside her previous best and elevates her to seventh on the New Zealand all-time list. Greene was also inside the meeting record with all three athletes winning caps for achieving a female sub-4-minute equivalent. Holly Manning in fourth took the New Zealand silver with Tillie Hollyer the national bronze.

The men’s race was a cracker and further confirmed that Cooks Gardens is the home of the mile with the leading four runners adding their names to the roll of honour bringing the list to an impressive 75. Whanganui Collegiate 800m runner James Hercus set the early pace before Eric Speakman took over. Speakman, who has twice run under 4 minutes in Whanganui (2016 and 2021) set a solid pace thinning the field. Tanner, who had finished sixth in the Commonwealth Games in August, showed absolute class over the final lap outrunning Australians Callum Davies (3:56.05) and Jude Thomas (3:58.29) to shave 0.41 seconds from his previous best to stop the clock in 3:54.56.

Tanner, who has always run well at Cooks Gardens, moves from ninth to fifth in the Cooks Gardens rankings. The 22-year-old has leapfrogged Irishman Ray Flynn, Kenyan great Kip Keino and New Zealand’s legend John Walker on that list. 800m runner James Preston should be elated with his fourth place and his first sub-4-mile (3:59.44).

Tom Walsh came tantalisingly close to breaking the stadium record in the shot falling only 2cm off the 21.11 record in round one and 14cm below with the second effort before conditions worsened.

Sadly, the wet conditions prevented the use of the very fast drop-in circle in front of the stand. That circle becomes slippery in the rain and Walsh missed not only the fast circle but the close proximity to the crowd would have added that essential extra ingredient.

Walsh will have to wait a year to finally nail that stadium record.

Fellow Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Hamish Kerr also came close to equalling his own stadium record with his final attempt at 2.29m having jumped 2.22 to win the competition.

Organisers had moved the landing area for the competition to get the very best from the easterly wind and they and Kerr were so nearly rewarded with the record. Imogen Skelton jumped 1.82m to take the women’s event, her lifetime second-best performance.

Whanganui’s Jonathan Maples had a memorable day. He took over a second off his personal best to win the 400m hurdles in 54.33 and in the afternoon session won his 100m with his first run under 11 seconds(10.87), albeit wind assisted.

His sister Lexi, from Hastings, repeated her second placing in the hammer, with her throw of 57.05m only 33cm shy of her best set a week earlier in Hastings. New Zealand international and stadium record holder Lauren Bruce won with 65.98m, some metres behind her record, while Maples solidified her position as New Zealand No.2.

Whanganui’s Maggie Jones running for New Zealand Schools was third in the women’s 400m hurdles with a personal best, with Whanganui’s Paige Cromarty also gaining a personal best in finishing fifth. Cromarty ran a personal best and first sub-13-second 100m (12.88).

The 400m events with the added element of a handicap component did not disappoint. Fergus McLeod won the men’s (48.42) from Whanganui-educated decathlete Max Attwell (48.82), while Rosie Elliot ran a lifetime best of 52.16 that places her fourth on the New Zealand all-time list. Portia Bing was second in an international field with athletes from four countries with Kadin Taylor (Waitakere City) winning the handicap taken across all 400m races.