Olympic champion pushing for high jump inclusion

Nelson has had an Olympic star in its midst this month and it was hard to miss 1.96m Hamish Kerr.

The 28-year-old high jumper is a regular visitor to the region this time of year and made sure the dates aligned with The Spectacle festival of running.

“My squad has come up here for the past four or so years for a training camp. We love it here. The Athletics Nelson Club is awesome and the track is great. It is warm here and never as windy as Christchurch,” enthuses the Paris Olympic gold medalist.

As well as hoping his Olympic teammate Sam Tanner would make a successful return in the elite mile, Hamish admits he was cheering on Stuey McSweyn as well.
“Stuey Mac from Tassie is a good mate of mine.”

Hamish loved the concept of The Spectacle, bringing the event to the city centre and wants to be more involved next year.

“We have been talking about it and it is something we would love to do, showcasing high jump as well in the town square,” proposes Hamish, who  plans to return to domestic competition next month before heading to the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in China at the end of March.

“Just three months away, don’t remind me,” he grins.

Spectacle co-founder Julian Matthews confirms he has spoken to Hamish about a future role in the event.

“It wasn’t going to work this year, but we can grow the festival and add so many different things,” says Julian, who was buzzing after the huge turnout for the three-day event.

“We managed to pull it off. I don’t know of any other event in the world that has both trail running and road racing. Being that close to the action can’t help but inspire you. We want people to be engaged in running. It’s a healthy way to live.”
He hopes The Spectacle will return next year.

“We will have to look at the invoices to come in after this. I hope businesses can see the benefit of this,” concludes Julian. The sport’s governing body, Athletics New Zealand, certainly can.

“These are the sort of opportunities athletics needs to take. This is the first partnership where Athletics New Zealand has provided support and assistance to an independent promotion,” says chief executive Cam Mitchell.

“These guys put on an amazing event. It was great to see Nelson get behind it.”