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Standout performances delivered a strong medal haul for New Zealand on day two of the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, Australia, yesterday.
Sprint star Zoe Hobbs declared her Commonwealth Games ambitions of “a medal” after claiming gold in the senior women’s 100m, on May 19.
Gold medal performances came thick and fast, led by Hobbs on the track and Jacko Gill in the senior men’s shot put, while Ben Bidois claimed victory in the senior men’s 1500m.
Para athletes also impressed, says Athletics New Zealand, with Danielle Aitchison winning the senior women’s para 200m, and Mitch Joynt taking gold in the senior men’s para 200m.
In the under‑18 ranks, Kingston Ryan won the men’s 1500m, leading in a Kiwi podium sweep with Alex Macbeth in silver and Ronin Dickens in bronze places respectively.
Rianco Haggard claimed the 400m hurdles, Casey Day secured long jump gold, and the U18 women’s 4x100m relay team of Jordan Viljoen, Emkhe Joubert, Sayde Kawau and Maddie Early combined for a dominant win.
Depth across middle‑distance and field events was underlined by a strong collection of silver medals, with Jake Lomas second in the senior men’s 1500m, Nick Palmer added another podium finish in the senior men’s shot put, while Imogen Skelton cleared her way to runner-up in the senior women’s high jump.
Bronze medals rounded out the prize haul, including Paige Dobson in the U18 women’s 1500m, Daequan Su in the U18 long jump, and the U18 men’s 4x100m relay team of Connor Brady, Alex Walker, Reiley Thomas and Haggard.
One of the meet’s defining moments came in the senior men’s 400m, where Lex Revell‑Lewis finished fourth but rewrote the national record books, stopping the clock in 45.82 seconds to set a new New Zealand record.
When asked post‑race about goals for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, Hobbs kept the message simple and emphatic, stating the goal was “a medal”.
