Another win for Karori runner

By Frank Neill

Karori’s James Preston has continued his winning way in international and national competitions.

The New Zealand 800 metres champion, James added another title when he won the 800 metres at the Brisbane Track Classic on 25 March.

To win the event, held at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, James had to run nearly three seconds faster than he did to win the New Zealand title.

He clocked exactly 1 minute 47 seconds to finish ahead of Australia’s Jack Lunn, who clocked 1 minute 47.15 seconds.

James’s winning time at the Brisbane meet compared with the time of 1 minute 49.80 second he clocked when winning the national 800 metres title on 3 March.

He had to run even faster to take out the victory at the Maurie Plant track and field meeting in Melbourne on 23 February.

James won that race in 1 minute 45.85 seconds to defeat fellow Kiwi Brad Mathas, who also finished second to James in the New Zealand Track and Field Championships 800 metres.

Brad also competed in the Brisbane Track Classic 800 metres, finishing fourth in 1 minute 47.58 seconds.

James has a personal best of 1 minute 45.30 seconds for the 800 metres, and only two New Zealanders have run the distance faster, the famous Olympic gold medalists Peter Snell and John Walker.

The Brisbane Track Classic was the last race of the 2022-23 track and field season for the Wellington Scottish Athletics Club runner.