Athletics: Robinson claims 10km title

Rozie Robinson leads the field during the Otago road walk championships at Logan Park on Saturday...
Rozie Robinson leads the field during the Otago road walk championships at Logan Park on Saturday. Photo by Jane Dawber.
Rozie Robinson (Hill City) gave herself a belated 21st birthday gift with an impressive victory in the senior women's section of the Otago road walk championships on Saturday.

A bone-chilling southerly did little to hamper Robinson's performance on the Butts Rd course as she settled into a good stride, rhythm and leg speed right from the gun.

Her only concern was remaining stiffness from two laps of Jacobs Ladder last Wednesday.

"I think it was the coming down that made me really sore," she said.

Robinson, who is now in her fourth season of competitive walking, made winning her second senior Otago 10km title appear effortless as she cruised around the course in 51min 20sec.

"I'm really happy with that considering the conditions and the fact I'm in a building phase for Hobart at the moment," she said.

In August, she won the national 10km senior women's title in 50min 1sec on the Wellington course and recently added the national 20km title in a slick 1hr 49min 42sec.

Robinson has been selected in the national team to contest the 20km walk in the New Zealand-Australia track and field meeting in Hobart in February.

Robinson's goal over the coming months will be to qualify for the world race walking championships in Russia next May.

"It would be awesome to make that team."

Winners of other grades on Saturday were: Erin O'Brien (Ariki) 2km women's 14 and under, 12min 9sec; Mathew Ogle (Hill City) 2km men's 14 and under, 13min 23sec; Dayna Tan (Hill City) 3km women's 15-16, 19min 36sec; Zinzan Smith (Caversham) 5km men 15-16, 44min 58sec; Jim Kerse (Leith) 5km masters men 50, 34min 30sec and Julie Edmonds (Caversham) 5km masters women 35-49, 31min 24sec.

Meanwhile, athletes from the Jim Baird stable dominated track and field action at the Caledonian Ground, none more so than Maddie Spence, Rebekah Greene and Andrew Whyte.

Spence impressed in the 80m hurdles, only to be denied breaking a 20-year-old record with her winning time of 12.48sec because of a 2.8 tail wind.

But given the highly competitive nature among Otago's up-and-coming hurdlers, the 1991 record of 12.52sec set by Megan Fraser (Taieri) is looking under siege.

Spence appeared in command throughout although she was pushed by Christina Ashton (Taieri), who finished second in 12.88sec. Danica Davies (Ariki) was third in 13.28sec.

Davies got the nod in a blanket finish for third with Britta Hamill (Ariki) and Tori Clearwater (Ariki).

Davis, Hamill and Clearwater featured in the 4x100m Ariki relay with Danielle Galdeman.

They came close to breaking the 1991 North Otago women's 15 and under relay record of 52sec, when they crossed in 52.31sec.

A strong head wind took its toll on Greene (Hill City) in the 1500m, but she still finished with a very respectable 4min 26.24sec. She then turned her skill towards the 400m, with a convincing victory in 61.07sec.

But the athlete of the day would surely have been Whyte, with victories in the 100m, 200m and 400m.

He dominated the 200m with a commanding victory, recording 21.79sec, and came away strongly in the second half to win the 100m in 10.86sec.

Then, despite tying up a little over the final 50m, he clinched 400m victory in 48.72sec.

 

 

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