Athletics: Bradley hammers record despite drizzle

Nicole Bradley
Nicole Bradley
Nicole Bradley shattered a 10-year-old Otago hammer throw record at the Caledonian Ground on Saturday.

Despite the drizzly conditions, the 23-year-old Taieri athlete blitzed Debbie McCaw's 2005 senior record by a whopping 5.53m.

Bradley's best throw - 60.11m - was on her fourth attempt, but her form was so good all five legitimate throws were well clear of McCaw's old mark.

The three-time defending national champion now holds two Otago records in the event, after she set the Otago 18-years record (46.43m) in 2011.

McCaw still holds the Otago 19 years and 20 years records (both 47.17m).

On Saturday, Ariki's Alan Davis (75) set an Otago 75 years plus record in the 3000m.

Davis finished third in the men's masters race behind Ariki's Brent Halley (51) and Hill City-University's Eric Scharpf (52) in 13min 46.70sec.

There were a few thrilling 100m races at the weekly track and field meeting, including the women's 15-17 years race.

Sprinting into a slight headwind, Taieri's Lily Cunningham (17) crossed the line first in 13.01sec, but Ellie Duncan (15) and Joccoaa Palmer (16) could not be separated in a photo finish.

Duncan and Palmer finished second equal in 13.24sec, while Emma Ward (17) was just 0.06sec behind them.

The men's 15-17 years race also went down to the wire, with Taieri's Jacob Granger (17) edging out Max Aitcheson (15), of Hill City-University, by 0.07sec.

Granger stopped the clock in 11.78sec, while third-placed Josiah Lesa, of Hill City-University, finished in 11.96sec.

Terry Collins-Hawkins (20), the sole senior 100m runner on Saturday, clocked the fastest time (11.30sec) on the day.

Saturday also marked the return of sprinter Andrew Whyte. The 400m ace only returned to training at full-speed a month ago, after picking up a hip injury at the start of the year.

The 22-year-old ran the 200m on Saturday, clocking 22.31sec, the fastest time on the day, into a 1.3m per-second head wind.

Despite a lack of competition, Hill City-University runner Oli Chignell showed good form in the 3000m.

He recorded a personal-best time of 8min 46.73sec, more than 2.03sec faster than his previous best, set at the South Island secondary schools championships in Nelson in March.

Taieri's Hannah Ashton also had a good day, winning the girls' under-14 high jump (1.50m), long jump (4.79m) and triple jump (9.91m). She finished second behind Meg Breen in the 100m in 13.86sec.

 

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