The fastest man in the country has pulled out of next week's national championships in Dunedin.
Joseph Millar (23), of Tauranga, is homing in on Olympic qualification in the 100m and 200m, and has opted to chase stiffer competition at the Melbourne World Challenge.
Athletics New Zealand granted him a release from the national championships, which double as a compulsory Olympic qualifier, because it should benefit his quest to qualify for Rio.
Millar has clocked the third-fastest 100m (10.32sec) and sixth-fastest 200m (20.77sec) in New Zealand history.
The Caledonian Ground has not seen that kind of speed since former Olympic and Commonwealth Games sprinter Chris Donaldson in the late 1990s.
Only Donaldson (10.17sec) and national record-holder Gus Nketia (10.11sec), both retired, have recorded faster times than Millar over 100m.
Millar needs to shave 0.17sec off his 200m and 0.12sec off his 100m personal bests to crack Rio.
He said the "light'' field in Dunedin would not give him the best chance of achieving his goal.
Millar has achieved big improvements since moving to Auckland from Tauranga last June, and his Olympic dream has quickly become realistic.
"There are a lot of things said about Auckland and how it's busy and a horrible place to live,'' Millar said.
"But I'm obviously doing something different from all those people. I'm loving it up here and it's an easier place to live than Tauranga.''
The sprinter plans to compete in the Queensland Track Classic in three weeks, and the Australian national championships at the end of March.
Athletics NZ yesterday released the start lists for the three-day-long nationals starting next Friday.
While Millar will not feature in the senior men's 100m and 200m, Otago's Cory Innes will run both, and Daniel O'Shea, also of Otago, will run the 100m.
Kodi Harman, of Waikato-Bay of Plenty, who has a personal best of 10.42sec, will also line up.
As reported in the Otago Daily Times last month, 1500m ace Nick Willis will not be in Dunedin for the nationals.
However, two-time Olympic shot put gold medallist Valerie Adams will be.
Another bunch of the country's top athletes will also be in town, including shot putters Tom Walsh and Jacko Gill, middle-distance runner Angie Petty and 5000m and 10,000m specialist Camille Buscomb.
Rising pole vault star Eliza McCartney, who set a New Zealand record (4.71m) earlier this week, is also set to compete, as are national 10,000m champion Malcolm Hicks, national hammer throw champion Matthew Bloxham, national 800m champion Brad Mathas and national javelin champion Stuart Farquhar.
While Willis will not be there to run the 1500m, an impressive 13-strong field, led by Wellington's Hamish Carson will still line up.
Carson and Eric Speakman, who is also competing, both clocked sub-4min miles at the Cooks Classic in Wanganui last month.
In addition to having a raft of promising athletes competing in the under-18 and under-20 categories, Otago has a couple of genuine medal contenders in senior events.
Andrew Whyte, of Hill City-University, is the favorite to win the 400m title, while Nicole Bradley, of Taieri, is back to defend her hammer throw title.
National javelin champion Tori Peeters has been ruled out of the championships with a back injury.
Otago also boasts a string of para athletes - Anna Grimaldi, Holly Robinson, Caitlin Dore, Rory McSweeney, Jess Hamill, Will O'Neill, Shaun Markham and Richard Nelson-Parker - who are expected to do well.
The championships will get under way at 8.45am next Friday and will wrap up at about 3pm on Sunday week.
● Almost 200 competitors have entered the national masters track and field championships starting in Dunedin today.
The annual event has attracted 199 entries, including 51 from Otago, two from Australia and one each from the Cook Islands and Sri Lanka.
The youngest competitor is Sophanna Parsons (33), of Dunedin, while Alastair Mackay (88), of Invercargill, is the oldest.
Action starts at the Caledonian Ground with the pole vault and 400m heats at 4pm today, and finishes at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.
