Eliza McCartney competing at the 2023 National Athletics Championships, Wellington Photo: Supplied / Athletics NZ
The cream of New Zealand athletics will be on show at the National Championships this weekend with eight members of the successful World Indoor squad taking part.
The inclusion of the likes of gold medal winning high jumper Hamish Kerr and silver medallists, pole-vaulter Eliza McCartney and shot-putter Tom Walsh, push the championships to new heights as New Zealand's best look to cement their place in the team for the Paris Olympics later this year.
Nine New Zealanders have gained an Olympic qualifying standard and seven of those will be in Wellington; Kerr, McCartney, Walsh, sprinter Zoe Hobbs, shot-putters Maddi Wesche and Jacko Gill and middle distance runner Sam Tanner.
"It's our pinnacle event in New Zealand," Athletics New Zealand's high performance director Scott Newman told RNZ.
"Our very best have just returned from the World Indoors and are now focused on the national championships and showing what they're capable of doing on New Zealand soil."
There are up to another nine athletes still chasing possible Olympic selection, including 800m runner James Preston, who ran the world indoors, javelin thrower Tori Peeters and discus thrower Connor Bell.
At the national championships points are on offer for both placing and performance.
"We have another nine or so athletes who will be wanting to hold their world rankings which would then put them in a strong position to be nominated for selection," said Newman.
The first Olympic selection announcement will be made in April, after that any athlete would have to record an automatic selection standard.
Athletics fields at the Olympics will be filled with those who have gained the qualifying standard, while the rest will be filled on world rankings.
Tom Walsh competing at the 2023 National Athletics Championships, Wellington Photo: Supplied / Athletics NZ
While National Championships seldom produce national records, Newman says an athlete might just strike the right conditions.
At this month's world indoors McCartney grabbed her first international podium since 2018 following years of injury toil and the 27-year-old Aucklander is relishing the prospect of further underlining her excellent form in the capital.
"I'm super excited to back competing on home turf after competing overseas for a couple of months," said McCartney, who has a season's best of 4.84m. "It will be special to be back in New Zealand competing in front of a home crowd for one last competition this summer.
"I've got a lot of motivation to jump while things are going really well. I'm looking forward to what Wellington might bring."
Walsh is keen to regain the national shot put title he lost to Gill last year.
"I'm in good shape and I'm looking forward to capitalising on that to reclaim my national title," said Walsh. "I had a good time competing indoors, but I didn't feel like I really got hold of one."
Paralympic champions Lisa Adams shot put F37, Anna Grimaldi long jump T47 and Holly Robinson javelin F46 will also be in action across the four-day programme as well as Para World 200m T36 champion Danielle Aitchison, who has gone close to world records in both the 100m and 200m this season.
The national championships start on Thursday.
