Top local athletes to compete at Colgate Games in Wellington   19 Dec 2014

The Colgate Games, New Zealand’s biggest annual children’s track and field athletics event, will be held in Wellington’s Newtown Park next year, from 9-11 January.

Nearly 1200 children aged seven to 14 – from 84 athletics clubs - are expected to compete in Wellington – and 93 are from just one club in the Northern Suburbs, the Olympic Harrier and Athletics Club.

Chair of the Colgate Games organising committee, Rama Smith, from Newlands, says the games organisation is on track. Smith heads a committed and focussed team of eight, who will be at Newtown Park during the weekend overseeing the event.

“We'll be oiling the machines making sure things run smoothly – it will be a fantastic three days”

She is looking forward to top performances, including local athletes from Olympic, Ben Murdoch and sprinter Islam Khaled-Abbas.

Khaled-Abbas picked up a Nick Willis scholarship worth $500, for being the top performing athlete in his grade in 2014, running faster than both North Island and South Island competitors. He could well top his age group again in his last Colgate Games.

He purchased new spikes which he will be using in January’s games for his favoured events: the 100m, 200m, 400m – which he won the past two years - and in the long jump.

Newlands College athlete Ben Murdoch is looking for a personal best in the high jump. He finished 2nd at last month’s national Secondary Schools champs, and Khaled-Abbas was part of the 4 x 100m Wellington College team that took the title in the Junior Boys grade.

Athletics Sport Development Manager Jo Murray is looking for a good medal haul on the track as well as the field.

“We had a great Colgate Games in Whangarei and it was fantastic seeing Islam pick up the Nick Willis Scholarship capping off a brilliant games for him. We're lucky to have such a committed group of coaches in Amanda Goldsmith, Alastair Leslie and Juan McDonald. They put so much time and energy into getting the best out of our athletes. We're all looking forward to an even more successful Colgate Games in January.”

The event has had many famous sporting names go through the Colgate Games level in the past including top 1500m runner Nick Willis, Jacko Gill, Sonny-Bill Williams and former All Black Jeff Wilson.

The Colgate Games, in its 37th year, are also held in Dunedin the following weekend, for South Island competitors, and Murdoch and Khaled-Abbas will also be competing, as entries are not restricted to competitors from the South Island.

ENDS

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