Poelman sets N.Z. hurdles record in grand prix athletics

Press, 23 February 1987, Page 21

Poelman sets N.Z. hurdles record in grand prix athletics

By

ROD DEW

A New Zealand resident 110 m hurdles record of 14.22 s by the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games decathlon medallist, Simon Poelman (Auckland), and superb 5000 m victories by Dave Burridge (Canterbury) and Anne Audain (Auckland) were among the most memorable performances at the national grand prix track and field meeting at Queen Elizabeth II Park on Saturday evening.

There were, however, many other performances of significance as some of New Zealand’s leading track runners made the most of the near perfect conditions. Sonia Barry (Taranaki) won the women’s 1500 m in the New Zealand junior record time of 4min 18.225, Dale McClunie (Waikato) retained his top rankings in the sprints with victories in the 100 m and 200 m, and the Canterbury favourite, Bev Peterson, bounced back to top form with a brace of excellent sprints over the same distances. In yet another performance of real class, Peter O’Donoghue (Auckland) won the grand prix 1500 m in 3min 38.885, joining the small list of world championship qualifiers. The B qualifying time is 3min 40.55. The evening was especially successful for Poelman, New Zealand’s top all-rounder. His brilliant' run over the 110 m hurdles set the meeting alight. His time beat the artificial standard by a fiftieth of a second, although it still trails the national record set by Tim Soper (Wellington) at 13.90 s at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games. Paul Lloyd (Wellington) was the runner-up, in 14.855, and Stuart Duncan

(Otago) third in 15.385. Poelman later had the satisfaction of recording a personal best of 45.62 m in the inter-club discus event, a result which was a real bonus for him, and for the meeting. The only person who finished ahead in this event was the big Canterbury thrower, Chris Barrett, who achieved 48.24 m. In between the hurdles and the discus, Poelman ran an excellent 100 m in 10.935, good enough for third place behind two of the country’s top sprinters, McClunie and Shane Downey (Auckland). McClunie recorded a very smart 10.83 s and Downey, who is aiming to regain his 100 m crown this summer, recorded 10.905. The fourth man home was the Canterbury junior, Scott Bowden in another very good time of 10.985. McClunie, the reigning national sprint champion, also won the 200 m in another splendid threeway tussle. He crossed the finish in 21.555, with Bowden (21.665) and Downey (21.795) hard on his heels. If Bev Peterson was out of sorts after losing her Canterbury 200 m title the previous week-end, there were no signs of this. She

stormed to outstanding victories in both 100 m and 200 m. She clocked 11.895, a best for the season, over the shorter distance with Helen Pirovano (Hawke’s Bay) and Rosemary Heyrick (Southland) filling the minor placings. Over 200 m, she produced another season-best with 24.675, again leaving Pirovano to the runner-up position. The one regret was that Andrea Wade (Auckland), who lost her sprint crown to Peterson last summer, did not travel south as expected Burridge’s run in the 5000 m was a classic. He did a great deal of the pace-making and still had enough left in reserve to pull away effortlessly from one of the best fields assembled in . New Zealand in recent times. His winning time of 13min 35.37 s was comfortably inside the B grade qualifying standard of 13min 38s for the world championships in Rome later this year. The United States Olympic triallist, Jon Sinclair, was a worthy second in 13min 45.02 s and the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games runner, Kerry Roger (Auckland), was third in 13min 52.665. The experienced Tom Birnie (New Brighton) headed off one of the pre-

race favourites, Rex Wilson (Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay) for fourth and a sadly out of form Michael Gilchrist (Technical) struggled home sixth in a time 10s slower than he was achieving in training runs at the start of the season.

Burridge was given the “Athlete of the Week” award for his very impressive performance. He now holds the distinction of being the only athlete to have qualified for the world championships in two events. He bettered the 10,000 m B grade time with a superb run in the Australian championships a few weeks ago. In spite of this, the man who had already been chosen to represent New Zealand at the world cross-country championships in Poland in March was not greatly impressed by his deeds. “I’ve got two B qualifications — that’s great,” he said, without really meaning it. “I would much rather they were A

qualifications.’ Only an A qualification makes selection certain. Those with B qualifications have to travel to Europe in the hope of winning selection at the eleventh hour. Burridge is not interested in this

The tall Canterbury athlete ran the race the hard way, from the front. The early laps were slow and Burridge went to the front after the fourth lap and stayed there. For a start he had six others hanging on his shoulder, but one by one they dropped away. Sinclair and Roger were the last to go, about three laps from the finish. From that point, it was a one-man affair. Burridge pulled remorselessly ahead for a win by some 80m from Sinclair and the tiring Roger. Burridge later expressed some surprise that he had been left with the pace-making. “I thought it would be a group run and we-could share the lead..”

He was disappointed

that he did not improve on his personal best of 13min 325, but was pleased with the time considering the way the race had gone. His last chance for an A qualification for the world championships will be in the 10,000 m at the national championships in Wellington. “The Japanese will be there, and they will be on the pace. I don’t mind doing my share. Weather permitting, there is still a chance.” Sonia Barry’s 1500 metre time of 4min 18.22 s was the fastest recorded by an under-19 athlete in New Zealand. It beat by three-tenths of a second the New Zealand junior record set by Linden Wilde (Auckland) seven years ago. Running in her second tough race in four days, Canterbury’s Sue Bruce still managed to give a very good account of herself, finishing close behind in 4min 18.555. Tracey Kennedy (Southland) was third.