Cooks Gardens in Whanganui is honoured worldwide despite Covid-19 pandemic resurgence

The pandemic may prevent a public celebration of a worldwide accolade for Cooks Gardens, but the people of Whanganui already know in their hearts it is the "Home of the Mile". Photo / File

Cooks Gardens is very much the "Home of the Mile" and the honour bestowed on this venue comes as exciting news on the 60th anniversary of Sir Peter Snell's world record.

The Sports Heritage Trust under Russell Sears is to be congratulated on providing the impetus, vision, and the documentation for this to happen. It was also the energy and perseverance from the same group that saw the return of the Mile to Cooks Gardens as a New Zealand Championship event last year after a long gap of 52 years. The Sir Peter Snell Mile Championship will conclude Sunday's Cooks Classic.

Under the red traffic light system, the Cooks Classic has become three separate meetings on Sunday with gaps between the three sections. Athletes will attend only the section they are competing in and leave at the conclusion of their final event. This approach was successfully trialled at the Regional Leagues in November with very similar numbers of athletes.

Unfortunately, no spectators can attend this year's Cooks Classic

Whereas organisers had a plan for competition under the red traffic light requirements they have had only six days to finalise them, communicate them to the sport and alter procedures to meet the requirements. It is sad that the public are unable to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Mile and the action-packed programme that had drawn our best number of entries. Athletes have already expressed their gratitude for providing safe competition under the tight guidelines.

Sixty-nine athletes have run under 4 minutes at the famous venue starting with Sir Peter Snell's world record 60 years ago and the list includes New Zealand greats such as Sir John Walker, Nick Willis (record holder and has achieved the mark at Cooks Gardens five times), Dick Quax, Rod Dixon and Tony Rogers plus a long list of international greats from eight countries who have run under 4 minutes on the track.

The special magic of Cooks Gardens has drawn large entries to this year's Sir Peter Snell New Zealand Championship mile and necessitated running a B race to accommodate the large field of 28 athletes.

Unfortunately, Olympian Sam Tanner will not be here to defend his title or because of the pandemic leading international athletes including USA based Kiwis such as Whanganui registered Geordie Beamish who finished third last year (3min 59.13sec). Beamish went on to a series of impressive performances overseas. Two of the four who ran under 4 minutes last year return: Eric Speakman who finished second last year in 3:566.66 will be seeking his third Cooks Gardens cap for the achievement and the popular Oliver Chignell would love to make it two successive sub 4-minute miles on the track. New Zealand international Julian Oakley has run a 3 minutes 55 mile and is seeking his first sub 4-minute mile at Cooks Gardens on Sunday.

The women's mile is also shaping to be a great race with a strong field of 16 athletes. Both mile events and other events have members of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team competing. The leading school aged athletes - who had both the New Zealand Schools Championships and last year's Athletics New Zealand Championships cancelled because of Covid - have welcomed the opportunity to compete in the Potts, Cooks and Capital Classics.

There were nearly 100 expressions of interest with a group of 38 selected on performances through last summer and at the last New Zealand Schools Championships in Tauranga in December 2020. In Hastings 28 competed and gained both podium places and 12 personal bests. Whanganui has three members of the team (Maggie Jones, Nat Kirk and Flynn Johnston) and all three will be in action on Sunday. Johnston should be pleased with his personal best 400m on Sunday that bodes well for his lap over hurdles on Sunday.

Not unexpectedly the schools' athletes feature prominently in the under-20 men's and women's 3000m championships being held in conjunction with the Cooks Classic.

The depth of fields put a number of stadium records under threat. Tom Walsh will have the shot record in sight after losing it to fellow Olympian Jacko Gill last year, while fellow Olympians Lauren Bruce and Hamish Kerr will seek to break their own respective hammer and high jump records. New Zealand javelin champion Tori Peeters will compete in the javelin where the record was set by Kirsten Smith in 1989 (55.44). The javelin is at a more favourable time for the throwers which will help Peeters in her bid for a big throw.

Although spectators are unable to attend, the Classic is being livestreamed.