Peter Renner’s Games ambitions unchanged

Press, 25 July 1986, Page 21

Peter Renner’s Games ambitions unchanged

From ROD DEW, in Edinburgh

The ambitions of New Zealand’s leading 3000 m steeplechaser, Peter Renner, of Christchurch, are unchanged by the boycott by 30 countries of the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games.

“While the Kenyans were still in there, my aim was to get a medal. It is still the same. I am seriously looking at the top two places,” he said yesterday. Renner, aged 25, is very much a gold medal chance and with the two top-ranked steeplechasers in the Commonwealth, Paul Kipooch and Some Muge, both of Kenya, no longer in the field his task appears to have been made easier. Last week-end he finished a very impressive third behind two other Kenyans, Samson

Obwocka and the Olympic champion, Julius Korir, in a 2000 m steeplechase in Birmingham. After setting the pace, he “messed up the last hurdle” and allowed the Kenyans through. Sampson Obwocka, ranked only seventh in Kenya, set a new world best time of smin 19.68 s and Renner set a New Zealand record of smin 24.125.

In recent weeks, Renner has set a personal best for the 3000 m flat of 7min 55.2 s in London, and an excellent Bmin 20s for the 3000 m steeplechase in Nice.

“Before the Olympics, I was running only Bmin 335, so I am well up on that,” he said.

Renner is now ranked second only to the Canadian steeplechaser Graeme Fell, on recent performances. Fell has a best of Bmin 19.545. Colin Reitz (England) and Roger Hackney (Wales) are the other challengers. “I think it comes down to four of us,” said Renner.

His concern is that the early pace might be too slow, allowing the sprinters to come through

at the finish. But he does not want to do as much pace-making as he did in the Olympic final in Los Angeles. “At the Olympics, I did too much front running. Here, with the wind, it will not be possible, anyway. The race will probably be tactical, but I can’t afford to let it get too slow.” He expects that a time around Bmin 22s will be fast enough to win if the pace is honest and the effort put in. At present, there is some doubt whether the heats will be held as

scheduled on Sunday morning (N.Z. time) because of the boycott. There are 16 entries for the steeplechase, and the maximum number allowed for a straight final is 15. Renner would prefer a single final race for the medals, even if it does mean that 16 runners will start. Unfortunately, there is a strong possibility that the desires of the organisers to spread out the programme will mean that the heats will be held, even if it means that only one will be eliminated from the final.