Top US pacemaker for Willis record attempt
27 February 2009
For immediate release
Top
US pacemaker for Willis record attempt
The battle
between Nick Willis and Andrew Baddeley for John Walker’s
28 year old New Zealand allcomers mile record is set for a
blistering pace with the confirmation of top US miler Rob
Myers this week as pacemaker for the March 13th
race.
With the mile field for the Christchurch
event the best assembled in New Zealand for at least 25
years, and most of New Zealand’s fastest 1500m prospects
racing in their own right, organisers were forced to look
overseas for a top class runner who could run Willis and
Baddeley through to the later stages of the race at the pace
necessary to attack Walker’s record of 3:50.6 for the best
time set on NZ soil.
“It takes a top runner in
their own right to have the speed and strength to lead a
field for 2-3 laps at the right pace” said Meet Director
Craig Motley. “Myers is a sub-four minute miler and a
training partner of Nick’s, and securing a pacemaker of
his calibre makes it far more likely that the record attempt
will be successful”.
A member of Willis’s US
training squad, Myers is a former US representative, is
ranked in the top 20 in the world this year and has a mile
personal best time of 3:53.78.
The More FM Mile
will be the headline event of the International Track Meet
to be held in Christchurch on 13th March, featuring top
local and international athletic
talent.
ends