Athletics: Moore keeps 400m crown in Otago

Andrew Moore became the new champion when he beat his training mate and defending champion Cory Innes in the 400m at the New Zealand track and field championships in Wellington at the weekend.

The Otago runners filled the top two spots, Moore winning the senior men's title in 47.09sec from Innes in 47.74sec.

Innes, who had won the title each of the past three years, had to play second fiddle to Moore, who only specialised in the event this season.

Moore (24) came fourth in the 200m last season and decided to step up to the longer distance.

He ran the fastest time in the country this season when he clocked 46.95sec in Invercargill in February.

A week later he became only the second runner to beat the 10am chimes on the Dunedin Town Hall clock when he won the annual Time Buster race around the OctagonMoore got the jump on Innes down the back straight and had a 3m lead when he passed through 200m in 24sec.

Innes closed slightly around the bend but Moore accelerated down the straight to win by 6m.

Moore also played a key role when the Otago men's team won a gold medal in the 4x400m relay in 3min 13.37sec.

The other team members were Innes, Todd Mansfield and Daniel O'Shea.

The 53-strong Otago team won 32 medals - six gold, 18 silver and eight bronze - at the champs.

Marshall Hall beat Pat Hellier (Auckland) to win the men's discus gold medal with a throw of 49.59m.

It was a personal-best throw by 3m.

Hall won the New Zealand junior title two years ago but missed last season after a spinal operation.

The women's 5000m was a clean sweep for Otago, Rachael Kingsford sprinting home to pass Erin Whitla in the final straight.

Kingsford won in a personal-best time of 16min 49.38sec from Whitla in 16min 49.79sec, with Otago veteran Shireen Crumpton third in 16min 54.93sec.

Kingsford's time was an Otago women's aged-20 record by a massive 29sec.

Anna-Lisa Uttley broke Otago women's records for 16-18-year-olds when she won the women's aged-16 3000m in 9min 54.06sec.

Her training partner Rebekah Greene took the silver medal in 9min 59.31sec.

The other Otago gold medallist was Rosanne Robinson, who won the women's aged-19 3km walk in 16min 05.61sec.

She also won a silver medal in the 10km in 58min 29sec.

Rebecca Hayman won three silver medals in the women's AWD wheelchair events in the shot put (5.24m), discus (10.28m) and javelin (9.33m).

The shot put was a New Zealand AWD record in her class.

Hannah Blair broke a 9-year-old Otago record when she won the silver medal in the senior women's javelin with her throw of 47.27m.

The other Otago record went to the women's aged-19 4x100m relay team of Hannah Bayard, Bethany Struthers, Devon Helm and Lauren Wilson, who won the silver medal in 49.23sec.

Anna Smythe won two senior women's silver medals behind Monique Williams (Auckland) in the 100m (11.74sec) and 200m (24.01sec).

She was also part of the women's 4x100m relay team that won the silver medal in 46.39sec.

The other runners were Larissa Dyke and sisters Nicola and Fiona Hely.

Gemma Radford was second in the women's 400m hurdles in 62.43sec, and Taieri club mate Louise Thayer won the silver medal in the women's high jump with a jump of 1.60m.