Three titles in a row

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Brad, the eight-time champion, swung wide to mount his attack down the home stretch but James hung tough to win by 0.08 in 1 minute 49.80 seconds.

Dominic Devlin (Auckland) claimed a fourth successive national senior 800m medal in bronze (1.50.87).

In winning the New Zealand title, James also recorded his second victory over Brad in eight days.

James ran a slick 1:45.85 to defeat Brad by 0.15 at the Maurie Plant track and field meeting in Melbourne on 23 February

The New Zealand championship “was the race I was most happy about it [this summer],” James says.

“It is great to have Brad back over.

“He has been one of the main guys for the past six to eight years. We have a good rivalry going.

“We are the top two New Zealand guys within a second of each other, so it is good for both of us.

“I ran the race exactly how I wanted.

“We’ve found that you can close as hard as on someone but it is really hard to get around them, if you are behind them. I thought he [Brad] might have a move down the back straight, but he waited for that tailwind.”

This is the third year James has won the New Zealand 800 metres title, and this year’s victory was more satisfying because Covid had meant not as many athletes competed in the New Zealand Championships.

“This year it meant more because we had the full field racing. It was nice to have a competitive race,” he says.

His next race will be the Brisbane Track Classic on 25 March, and that will also be the last race of this summer season.

Wellington toasted the senior men’s and women’s 800m double after Alison AndrewsPaul claimed her maiden national senior title with a composed performance.

Competing at her first national track and field championships for seven years, the Canadian-based Mastertonraised athlete controlled the race from the front and when she opened up over the final 200m she could not be caught, clocking a season’s best 2 minutes 05.01 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.