Athletics: New Zealand records set in Boston by former Whanganui athletes

Geordie Beamish has set a 5000m New Zealand record. Photo / Supplied

Two former Whanganui athletes have set New Zealand records at the Boston University indoor season opener.

Geordie Beamish, running for On Athletics Club (OAC), went straight to No 2 in the New Zealand all-time 5000m list, running 13:12.53 at the university's indoor season opener.

He overtook former world record holder Dick Quax and, in the process, set a New Zealand indoor record with his impressive performance, finishing second to his OAC teammate Oliver Hoare (Australia).

Beamish has picked up where he left off at the end of the Northern Hemisphere outdoor season when he had run fast consecutive miles and a 3000m that put him fifth in the New Zealand all-time list. His performance at the weekend was 19 seconds inside his previous best.

Beamish left Whanganui Collegiate School in 2014, with his last run for the school in the winning New Zealand Schools 4 x 400 at Cooks Gardens following his 3000m title earlier in the day.

At the same event in Boston, Liam Back, running for Providence College (Rhode Island), broke Sam Tanner's New Zealand under-20 record in finishing third in the 3000m in 7:54.30. The 19-year-old, who left Whanganui Collegiate School in 2019, won the New Zealand Schools 1500m title in his final year.

In Boston, Back took a massive 36 seconds off his previous best time as he prepares for indoor and outdoor seasons.