Athletics: Muskett continues winning form

Val Muskett (Hill City) continued her good form by winning the women's over-55 grade at the Gold Coast marathon on Sunday.

Muskett (54) finished 63rd in the women's race in a time of 3hr 20min 36sec and was just 29 seconds short of the race record in her age group.

Muskett used last month's Christchurch marathon and the Gold Coast event as preparation for the women's 24-hour race at the inaugural Commonwealth ultra-distance running championship in England in September.

She was in 67th place when she passed the halfway mark at 21km in 1hr 36min 47sec and her fitness showed when she gained four places in the last half of the race.

Muskett also won her age group at the Christchurch marathon at Queen's Birthday Weekend when she completed the course in 3hr 30min 23sec.

Muskett won the New Zealand 100km championship around Lake Taupo in February in 9hr 38min 55sec.

She was 11th in the International Association of Ultra Runners 24-hour championship in Seoul in October, covering a personal best distance of 205.140km. Muskett has also represented New Zealand in the world 100km championships for nearly a decade.

Shireen Crumpton (Hill City) did not defend her women's title on the Gold Coast because her focus this year is on next month's world marathon championships in Berlin.

She used the half-marathon as under-distance preparation for Berlin and finished third in 1hr 14min 05sec.

Todd Johnston (Ariki) was another Otago athlete competing on the Gold Coast and he finished fifth in two 100m sprints in 11.30sec and 11.26sec. James List (Ariki) was fourth in the 800m in 2min 00.765sec.

Andrea Miller (Taieri), who is preparing for the 25th World University Games at Belgrade and the world championships in Berlin, finished third in her specialist 100m hurdles in 13.31sec in Lille in France.

She hit top form a few days later when she finished second at the Leon Boyle Memorial Flanders Cup meeting in Oordegem, Belgium, in 13.10sec to equal her New Zealand record.

Rachel Kingsford (Hill City) pushed international Melissa Moon (Wellington) into second place when she won the North Island 5km cross-country championships in Taupo in 18min 11sec.