Pacy teen eyes 100m relay berth

by Jamie Troughton | 5th January 2010

He breezed home in his sprints at the annual Tauranga Twilight meet last week but flying teenager Joseph Millar has a much bigger opportunity blowing his way.

The Aquinas College 17-year-old, who recently won the 200m at the national secondary schools championships, has been identified as a contender for a spot in New Zealand's Commonwealth Games relay team.

With a best 100m time of 10.80secs, Millar knows he's got a heap of improvement still to do but intends going for broke in a hectic six weeks.

"I've been running good times for the conditions - quite often I've been running into head winds so it's been quite difficult to do anything fast but I'm ranked around sixth at the moment," Millar said.

Athletics New Zealand project manager Terry Lomax is arranging a series of meetings for the New Zealand men's team to get a qualifying mark, after the national body decided relay teams should be sent to New Delhi.

The qualifying standard for the Commonwealth Games relay team is 39.40sec.

Along with national champion Chris Donaldson, other contenders for a place in the team are David Ambler (Canterbury), Millar (Waikato) and Aucklanders Carl van der Speck, James Dolphin, Clayton Mbofana, Isaac Tatoa, Jeffrey Thumath, Craig Bearda, Matt Brown and Ben Potter.

Potter was supposed to turn up to the Twilight meet but never showed, leaving Millar to canter home into a headwind in 11.14secs. He also set a new personal best of 48.65 in the 400m - an event he enters "just for fun" - which means he's now ranked fourth among under-19 men in the country.

Millar now embarks on a Young Olympians tour, which starts in Wellington next week and includes meets in Wanganui and Hastings.

He's excited about the outside chance of running for his country in October.

"There's nothing really official yet and it's all happening pretty quickly but I've just got to keep working hard."

Donaldson, meanwhile, said  it was unlikely any New Zealand sprinter would reach the qualifying standard to compete in the individual 100m (qualifying standard 10.18sec) or 200m (20.50sec). "But we have dedicated guys and, as a team, we could match the best in the relays." 

At 34, Donaldson is now the old man of New Zealand sprinting but he is confident he can still make the top four for the Commonwealth Games.

Pacy teen eyes

100m relay berth

Schools champ sprints for Games team

BIG MISSION: Joseph Millar has his sights on the Commonwealth Games. MARK  McKEOWN  030110MM028bopATHLETICS

by Jamie Troughton

He breezed home in his sprints at the annual Tauranga Twilight meet last week but flying teenager Joseph Millar has a much bigger opportunity blowing his way.

The Aquinas College 17-year-old, who recently won the 200m at the national secondary schools championships, has been identified as a contender for a spot in New Zealand's Commonwealth Games relay team.

With a best 100m time of 10.80secs, Millar knows he's got a heap of improvement still to do but intends going for broke in a hectic six weeks.

"I've been running good times for the conditions - quite often I've been running into head winds so it's been quite difficult to do anything fast but I'm ranked around sixth at the moment," Millar said.

Athletics New Zealand project manager Terry Lomax is arranging a series of meetings for the New Zealand men's team to get a qualifying mark, after the national body decided relay teams should be sent to New Delhi.

The qualifying standard for the Commonwealth Games relay team is 39.40sec.

Along with national champion Chris Donaldson, other contenders for a place in the team are David Ambler (Canterbury), Millar (Waikato) and Aucklanders Carl van der Speck, James Dolphin, Clayton Mbofana, Isaac Tatoa, Jeffrey Thumath, Craig Bearda, Matt Brown and Ben Potter.

Potter was supposed to turn up to the Twilight meet but never showed, leaving Millar to canter home into a headwind in 11.14secs. He also set a new personal best of 48.65 in the 400m - an event he enters "just for fun" - which means he's now ranked fourth among under-19 men in the country.

Millar now embarks on a Young Olympians tour, which starts in Wellington next week and includes meets in Wanganui and Hastings.

He's excited about the outside chance of running for his country in October.

"There's nothing really official yet and it's all happening pretty quickly but I've just got to keep working hard."

Donaldson, meanwhile, said  it was unlikely any New Zealand sprinter would reach the qualifying standard to compete in the individual 100m (qualifying standard 10.18sec) or 200m (20.50sec). "But we have dedicated guys and, as a team, we could match the best in the relays." 

At 34, Donaldson is now the old man of New Zealand sprinting but he is confident he can still make the top four for the Commonwealth Games.