A significant milestone in New Zealand's athletics arena, unfolding a decade of preparation
New Zealand Athletes Shine at World Championships
New Zealand's athletics team is making waves at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The country, with a population of just 1.7 million, has already secured two track gold medals, matching the total number of gold medals won in the history of these news events before this week.
The first gold came in the 3,000m steeplechase, where Geordie Beamish made history by becoming New Zealand's first track gold medallist in this event. Beamish's victory was described as 'pretty special' by Athletics New Zealand chief executive, Cam Mitchell. His triumph was even more significant as it occurred at Cooks Gardens, a smaller venue compared to the 37,000 seater Tokyo crowd at the world news.
Just a day later, Hamish Kerr added another gold to New Zealand's tally, winning in a separate event. Kerr found it 'really kind of cool' to share these best moments with Beamish, who also won world indoor titles on the same day a decade earlier and last year.
Kerr's gold was also hailed as 'amazing' by Mitchell. Before this week, New Zealand had won only six gold medals in total at the news events. With these recent victories, New Zealand has won a third of the gold medals won by the United States, a country with over 330 million people.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed pride in both athletes on social media. Nick Willis, New Zealand's former 1500m Olympic silver medallist, watched Beamish's win from a delayed flight in Detroit.
In a coincidence, both Beamish and Kerr have roots in Cooks Gardens. In a 2014 national high school event at Cooks Gardens, Kerr won high jump gold, while Beamish (then known as George) won the Mars Petcare 3000m race.
Eliza McCartney, who also competed at the 2014 event, will represent New Zealand in the pole vault in Tokyo. Maddi Wesche, another New Zealander, took silver at the Paris Olympics in a separate event from Beamish and Kerr.
Athletics in New Zealand receives annual government funding of $3.7 million (USD$2.2m). The 2014 event at Cooks Gardens was sponsored by the local golf club.
Beamish's victory spurred Kerr on in Tokyo, with Kerr joking that Beamish's victory a day earlier had motivated him. Hamish Kerr's gold at the Paris Olympics last summer in a separate event further highlights the strong showing of New Zealand's athletes on the global stage.
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