Runner Geordie Beamish has eased through to the final of the men's 3000m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
Geordie Beamish is into the final of the 3000m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Photo: AFP
In a race dripping with quality, the 25-year-old US-based New Zealander was happy to sit towards the back of the field during a slow first half of the race.
However, as the race came to the boil the former Whanganui Collegiate student, who was making his debut in the Black Singlet, unleashed his trademark turn of pace to quickly move into contention before powerfully accelerating from sixth with a lap-and-a-half to go through to second at the bell.
For the final 200m he looked in control as he crossed the line second in 7:51.71 to bank one of the four automatic spots for the final on Monday morning.
As a measure of the quality of the opposition he finished only 0.29 behind the heat two winner Selemon Barega of Ethiopia and he also took the scalp of Spain's Adel Mechaal - the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 1500m fifth placer - who had to settle for fourth.
Happy to get the job done, Beamish was also delighted at the chance to compete against such a stellar field.
"I thought it would be cool to run against Barega, the Olympic (10,000m) champion. I've never really raced anyone of that calibre and I just saw it as a good opportunity. It was fun running the last couple of laps next to him - it was like I belonged in that kind of field.
"Once I hit that last 800m, the idea was to keep an eye on the guys in the top four. I made a move with maybe 300m to go, I made one move and made it stick.
"Putting on the Black Singlet for the first time was special and it was a really cool experience to be around other New Zealanders again. After five or six years living in the States it is all starting to feel pretty real."
Sprinter Zoe Hobbs finished 11th in the 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Photo: Photosport
Competing in her second ever indoor event, sprinter Zoe Hobbs finished in third in her 60 metre semi-final but agonisingly just missed out on a berth in the final by 0.02 seconds.
In a loaded semi-final featuring American champion Mikiah Brisco, the fastest qualifier from the heats, as well as 2018 World Indoor 60m bronze medallist Munjinga Kambundji of Switzerland, only the top two from each semi would automatically advance to the final with the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers across all three semis also progressing.
Running from the outside lane eight, the New Zealander did not quite get away to the same slick start as the heats but once she got into full stride, she finished like an express train to make up several positions over the final meters and claim third spot in 7.16 - a mark which after the second of three semi-finals sat in the second spot to advance on time to the final.
Hobbs then faced a nerve-shredding wait watching the third semi-final to see if her time would be quick enough to advance for the medal race.
However, the third-place finisher Vitoria Cristina Rosa of Brazil set a South American record of 7.14 and so the Kiwi was dislodged from a final spot.
Earlier in the day Hobbs smashed the women's Oceania Indoor 60m record by clocking 7.13 to advance seventh fastest from the heats.
This time wiped 0.29 from the national record set by Leah Belfield last month and obliterated the Oceania record mark of 7.30 set by Australia's former Olympic 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson.
Hobbs has enjoyed a stellar domestic campaign lowering the New Zealand 100m record on three occasions but given her lack of indoor experience - she only made her debut on the boards last weekend in Munich recording a 60m time of 7.25 in a mixed race - it was an enormous challenge for the 24-year-old Auckland-based athlete.
Hobbs said it was disappointing not to make the final.
"I did re-focus well after the morning heat and I warmed up quite well, but I just didn't manage to execute that start.
"I felt like the girl in the lane next to me might have flinched and that might have thrown me a little, but I finished strongly so I can take that as a positive for what was only my third race ever indoors.
"The third semi-final had a false start which added to the suspense. I then watched the race on a TV monitor for the athlete gear collection area - it was agony.
"Looking back, I'm immensely proud. I'm excited for the future and hopefully I can build on this performance."
The next New Zealand athletes to compete at the World Athletics Indoor Championships are Olivia McTaggart who competes in the women's pole vault and Tom Walsh who is gunning for a hat-trick of World Indoor titles in the men's shot put on Sunday.