Top athletes end summer season in style at Sir Graeme Douglas International

Jacko Gill claimed the shotput crown over nemesis Tom Walsh.
Photo: Photosport

Superstars of New Zealand track and field were on show on Thursday night for the final time this summer.

The Sir Graeme Douglas International marked the end of the 2023 season and the athletes signed off in style.

With a stunning opening throw of 22.12 metres, Jacko Gill claimed the shotput crown over nemesis Tom Walsh.

“I felt really good today, warm ups and just felt like I had a good rhythm. So, yeah, I thought it was far but not quite that far. So I was stoked.”

The 28-year-old threw a personal best to make it two in a row over his great rival following his upset at nationals in Wellington.

Gill eclipsed his previous personal best of 21.90m at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

“I tried to like put a huge emphasis on the technique and that seems to really make a difference.”

Conditions tested athletes, with steady rain making life difficult.

However, Walsh was not making any excuses.

“I think you’ve gotta be ready to do whatever you need to do and if it rains, you just gotta be ready to deal with it. There’s still no reason why you can’t throw fire in the rain. It’s just about giving it a chance and I felt like I did that in the last three rounds. Not quite as good as the first few rounds, but still gave it a chance.”

Meanwhile, the iconic smile is well and truly back for Eliza McCartney after the pole vaulter added another title to her vast collection.

Photo: Photosport Ltd 2021

The rain proved particularly difficult for vaulters.

“I think it was just one of those days that you take what you can get, and possibly just move on after that. The conditions weren’t good today. It took a lot to get over that first height of 446 for me and then I just kind of lost it after that.”

McCartney was unable to hit qualification heights for the World Championships, falling shy of the 4.71m target with a vault of 4.46m.

“You want to be resilient and tough and certainly there are vaulters out there that will just brave anything, but you need to be mindful it’s a bit of risk management. If the conditions are horrible, sometimes it’s not worth it.”

However, it was not her last chance to hit the entry standard for the year.

“We’re going to Australia in a week’s time and I’ve got the Brisbane track Classic and the Australian Nationals so two more comps to end the season. Warmer weather I’m hoping. That will be quite a few comps for me in this last two-, three-month period,” McCartney said.

She would pip Olivia McTaggart who came into competition with a weight off her shoulders, having already hit the entry standard earlier in the season.

“It’s pretty disappointing. I’m still trying to hold on to that 4.71 from last weekend, but a lot of the time with these competitions, it’s just down for conditions. I didn’t get to jump out and warm up. I wasn’t able to get back up for the competition. I was about two minutes away from pulling out today.”

McTaggart said her body did not feel quite right on Thursday night.

“I just hadn’t warmed up and just wasn’t there today.”

Wrapping up the meet was the women’s 100m, with all eyes on Zoe Hobbs who recently broke the 11-second barrier, twice.

“It’s been a massive two weeks, so I didn’t have a lot of expectation coming in. I just wanted to have fun and we were racing quite late as well. The weather hasn’t been the best, so just happy to cross the line and have fun with it.”

Hobbs still managed to finish in 11.2 seconds, despite the cold and wet conditions.

“I was quite surprised to hear that time, because I didn’t get the best start. I sort of had a stumble and then I rose quite early. I didn’t get to accelerate as deep as what I hoped to. I didn’t think it would come across as 11.02, so it’s pretty reassuring that I can still run that and not piece together the perfect race.”

With the domestic season now wrapped up, athletes will shift focus to the World Championships in Budapest in August.