Glen Ballam to get world-class test

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/The Press

GOOD TIMING: Southland runner Glen Ballam will line up against Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis in Wellington tonight.

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Southland runner Glen Ballam could get the perfect opportunity to see just how he rates when he lines up against Olympic medallist Nick Willis in Wellington tonight.

The promising teenager is one of eight Southlanders making the trip to Wellington for the Capital Classic athletics meet in Wellington tonight.

For Ballam the meet is a big one for many reasons. Not only will he possibly get a chance to test himself against one of the world's best middle-distance runners in Willis, he also has the small task of trying to gain selection into world junior championships.

A time of 1min 50sec would almost certainly book him a trip to the championships in Canada.

Recently, Ballam has been posting times around the 1.52 mark.

Willis has entered in both the 800m and 3000m races but whether he chooses to line up in both events tonight is uncertain.

Talented Southland sprinter Matthew Robinson will travel with the Southland team to Wellington but is unlikely to front tonight as he nurses an abductor injury.

Robinson is also looking to gain selection in the New Zealand team to attend the world junior championships in Canada.

The other Southlanders that will compete tonight are Greer Alsop, Charlotte Muschamp, Savannah Bruin, Rebecca Gibson and Gideon Barnard.

After tonight's meet in Wellington the Southland team will travel to Wanganui for another meet on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in other athletics news, two Southland coaches were named by Athletics New Zealand as regional events coaches in its Rio2016 project.

Lance Smith has been appointed as a horizontal jumps coach while Colin Russell will work with hammer throwers.

The Rio2016 project has been set up to work with younger athletes, with the 2016 Olympic Games being the major prize at the end of the tunnel.

Smith and Russell's first duty will be to attend a Rio2016 performance camp held in conjunction with the re-established Young Olympians Camp in Wanganui from Sunday through to Wednesday.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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