Top athletes swarm Jubilee Park | Taranaki Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Taranaki

For the first time since 1971, Inglewood was host to the New Zealand Athletics Championships and the three-day meet was a great success, with drawcard athletes Beatrice Faumuina and Valerie Vili bringing in big crowds.

More than 570 athletes swamped the event, held over March 2, 3 and 4 at Jubilee Park and appreciative spectators watched on as Faumuina and Vili worked their way towards gold medals.

Faumuina won her 14th national discus title, throwing 60.71 metres and Vili threw 18.84 metres to win her seventh shot put title.

Auckland's Monique Williams was a hot topic over the course of the three days, winning five gold medals in the women's 100m, 200m, 400m, the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay.

Otago's Chris Donaldson and Auckland's James Dobson threw a spanner in the works during Saturday's competition, finishing the men's 100m in a dead heat, a first in the championships' history.

Jubilee Park facilities were praised by competitors and officials alike, with acclaim going to the big screen which enabled spectators close-up views of popular events such as javelin, hammer throw, high jump, long jump, pole vault and numerous track events.

Assistant meet manager, Wally Gillum, was thrilled with how well the championships went.

"The event went off fantastically well. We had officials there who have officiated for the Commonwealth Games and they commented that it was one of the best organised events they had seen in a long time. I feel humbled that the officials and volunteers put in so much work, there were 190 of them and they did a tremendous job. The big screen was a major talking point, both with the athletes and the crowds, and we really have to thank the Taranaki Electricity Trust for assisting us with that.

"The athletes were also impressed with the facilities and rated them as top class.

"We have spoken to Athleteics New Zealand and have been told that there will definitely be opportunity for Inglewood to apply to hold the championships again," he said.