Rebekah Greene
Promising Otago runner Rebekah Greene (Hill City) broke a
29-year-old New Zealand record when she qualified for the 1500m
final at the world junior athletics championships in Canada on
Saturday.
Greene (16), a pupil at St Hilda's Collegiate, broke the
women's aged 16 record of 4min 21.18sec that Sue Bruce
(Canterbury) ran in 1981.
Greene's time of 4min 18.90sec was 3.08sec faster than the
Otago senior women's record she ran in February.
Greene sneaked into the 1500m final by just 0.08sec at the
championships in Moncton.
She will run the final today in a classy field that includes
the top African runners.
Greene sat just behind the fast-starting African runners in
Saturday's race and controlled her pace to be in fifth spot
at the bell.
She maintained her focus and resolve down the back straight
and finished strongly down the straight to snatch the last
qualifying spot for the final.
University of Otago student Hannah Newbould ran 4min 19.71sec
to narrowly miss qualifying for the final.
She missed her chance to be a dual finalist when she failed
to maintain contact with the leading pack in the third lap.
Newbould finished eighth in the 3000m final last week.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.