New Zealand sprinter Tiaan Whelpton Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Canterbury sprinter Tiaan Whelpton has broken a New Zealand athletics record that has stood for 30 years.
Whelpton clocked 6.5 seconds in finishing second in the 60m final at the ACT Championships in Canberra.
The time obliterates Gus Nketia's long-standing national mark of 6.59, set in Barcelona in 1995, and qualifies him for the World Indoor Championships to be held in Nanjing, China in March.
Whelpton comfortably ran under the World Indoor Championships standard of 6.55.
Whelpton put down a statement in the heats, running a 6.52 with an illegal trailing wind.
"6.50 translates to a 9.9 or 10 flat (for the 100m), so I think if I can stay in this sort of shape, that sub-10 is loading and it's coming," said Whelpton afterwards.
"I did not expect this to be honest. This really caught me by surprise."
Although he still has to be officially selected for the World Indoor Championships, Whelpton has shifted his focus to performing on the biggest stage in Nanjing.
"Yes, I ran a quick time, but the job's not done yet," he said. "I'm really, really wanting to perform super well at World Indoors as well now, and I do think I'm capable of that. We're just getting
started. Let's see what happens."
Whelpton's run in Canberra takes him up into the top 60 all-time in the world over 60m.
Whelpton will look to return to New Zealand with likely appearances on the Summer Circuit at the International Track meet over 60m and 100m before the NZ Track and Field Championships in Dunedin at the start of March.
Meanwhile in his first competition since winning gold at the Olympics, Hamish Kerr won the high jump at the Cooks Classic in Whanganui with a height of 2.19 metres.
Fellow Olympian Sam Tanner won the men's mile in a time of 3:55.
