New Zealand Herald – 29 January 2023
Olympian Sam Tanner provided a thrilling climax to the Pak’nSave Cooks Classic in Whanganui by regaining the national title over the mile in a PB of 3m 54.56s.
The Commonwealth Games 1500m sixth-place finisher and all-time New Zealand 1500m number two, demonstrated his class to show a clean pair of heels to the opposition over the final lap to trim 0.41s from his lifetime best set on this track when winning the 2021 New Zealand mile title.
In total four men dipped under the four-minute mile barrier with the Aussie duo Callum Davies (3m 56.05s) and Jude Thomas (3m 58.29s) claiming second and third and national 800m champion James Preston also achieving his first landmark sub-four-minute time with a 3m 59.44s clocking for fourth and also earning the silver in the New Zealand mile championship. With the Australians ineligible for championship medals, Eric Speakman, who placed fifth overall in 4m 03.07s, picked up the bronze. Karsen Vesty (New Zealand Secondary Schools), 18, ran a big new PB of 4m 04.24s for sixth.
