Toby Gualter Continues on his runway of Success
Wellington’s Olympic club athlete Toby Gualter took his 2nd national title in space of a week winning the Athletics New Zealand 5km Road Championships on the Rotorua Airport Runway on Saturday. Toby ran personal best road 5km time winning in 14:12. Quentin Succo of France representing AS Monaco Athletisme finished in second with 14:53. Matthew Arnold was third in a PB 14:56, Only last week, in Wanaka, Gualter won the national mountain running titl. This followed on from his silver at NZ track national over 5000m and gold at National 10000m event in Inglewood at the beginning of the year. Earlier in April he won the Christchurch Half Marathon.
He has been a dominant force in the national distance events since his return from USA College in the middle of last year when he started with his silver at the 2024 Cross Country nationals in Hawkes Bay.
Lisa Cross took women’s 5km title in a PB 16:25, heading in defending champion Laura Nagel by 12 seconds.
Leading Wellington Results:
Men; 1st Toby Gualter (Olympic Wellington) 14:12 PB, 4th Lennox Crowe (Wellington Scottish) 15:10, Men under 16;3rd Ovin Angammana 17:24.
In the Rotorua Half Marathon Kumiko Otani [WHAC] won the women’s division in a time of 1:22:15, ahead of Lauren Spyker 1:28:06.
